


Tongue Tied

by haatorii



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Awkward Flirting, Background Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang - Freeform, First Kiss, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Getting Together, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Nico di Angelo, POV Will Solace, School Festivals, Songfic, background Jason Grace/Piper McLean - Freeform, background Percy Jackson/annabeth chase - Freeform, bassist!Nico di Angelo, rockstar Nico di Angelo, student body president Will Solace, the rating might change but i'm not promising anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26235568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haatorii/pseuds/haatorii
Summary: The guy finally recovers and drinks the water without coughing again. He closes the lid and gives it back to Will. “Thanks. I didn’t know I needed that.” He smiles at him and wipes his chin.And just like that, Will is hooked.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 26
Kudos: 157





	1. We Do It For Love, Sweet Love

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I couldn't wait. I should be writing the next chapter for Waiting To Set It Right but instead I made this other thing. This fic will be pretty short so unless I get brain worms, this fic will be done by the 2nd or 3rd week of September.
> 
> So this fic is inspired by some of my favorite Grouplove songs. Like, their song Tongue Tied is the whole reason this fic exists. So in a way, this is my love letter to Grouplove and my university(?) since I'm just describing my university. I love how we celebrate its foundation anniversary so much it was also my inspiration in writing [Gorgeous](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1282019). 
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's Colours
> 
> PS: all inconsistencies and grammatically incorrect phrases & sentences are all mine.

Kayla’s phone rings in her pocket, the shrill intro music of the Japanese pop group she likes so much echoing in the small conference room. God, even calling it a ‘small conference room’ is too much of a stretch. It’s just a classroom, really. But instead of rows and rows of armchairs, it’s just one big oval table with swivel chairs all around it and those fun looking microphones they use in courtrooms or senate. The one they press when they say “I want to invoke my right to the fifth amendment” and get away with plunder or some other shit. And a wireless projector.

Austin plugs his ears with his fingers and winces, “Jesus, Kayla, could your ringtone be any louder?”

Kayla scrambles to fish her phone out from her pocket. “Sorry, sorry. I’ve been expecting this call. I can’t afford to miss it.” She stands up and clicks receive, excusing herself from the meeting to talk outside. Will lets her go.

“Katie, did Sonny’s already agree to the price for the speakers?” Will asks.

“Yeah. I just have to send them a letter for their documentation.”

He checks a small box in his list, “Okay. Please send them the letter ASAP so Billie could write the check.” Katie makes an affirming sound so he moves on to the next.

“What about the booths? Did the vice-chancellor finally agree to make the space behind the gym a food court? Who was in charge of that again?” He flips a page and scans it for the answer. “Gus,”

“Yes?” Gus squeaked.

“Did the vice-chancellor’s office respond to our letter?”

“No, not yet. I have to call again tomorrow. She was out for the week.”

“Please do that first thing tomorrow. I need confirmation before the day ends.” Gus nods and Will assumes he makes a note of it on his phone.

Will circles ‘food court’ in his notes and closes it. “Okay, let’s talk about the events--”

“Excuse me, Will?” Kayla peeped her head back inside. “Is it okay if I bounce? The manager of 5 Graces is here, she wanted to look at the venue.”

Will looks at her, confused. Why would she want to check the venue? They already sent her the size of the place and frankly, there isn’t much to look at, just a stage and at least 37.8 acres of an open field. “Why? I mean, didn’t we already send her the size of the field? And weren’t she a student here before they all dropped out?”

“Well, yeah but I think they just like to double-check. One might never know, even the professionals have to double-check. Don’t worry, I’ll read the minutes later, I promise.”

Will purses his lips and thinks about whether to let Kayla go or make her stay. They’re still in the middle of an important meeting and the university’s foundation anniversary is only 33 days away. But then again, 5 Graces agreed to play for  _ free _ on Student’s Night as a ‘thank you’ to their alma mater so there’s still  _ a lot  _ of money left for other things.

He looks at his notes again, checking if there’s something she has to say to Kayla before she lets her go. He closes his flip notebook again. “Okay, but you have to read the minutes, okay?”

Kayla pumps her fist subtly but he still sees it. “Yes, yes! You’re the best, Solace. Bye, suckers!”

Charles chuckles low in his seat. Will smiles at his officers and they resume the meeting.

Will lets out a sigh after locking the door behind him. If he had any idea that being the student council president at freaking  _ college _ is this exhausting, he would have  _ never _ agreed to run. He’s a senior, for fuck’s sake! He’s done with his thesis! He could literally graduate in October if it weren’t for this responsibility!

He cracks his neck and pockets the keys then starts walking.

The weather has been nice so far. It is still 3:00 but the sun isn’t that hot anymore, and there’s a cool breeze from the sea a few miles ahead so it’s not that bad, even though it smells like dried fish. But what else is new if you’re attending a university a few shakes of an ass from the sea.

A gust of wind comes and he covers his face from dust. Free face powder. He snickers to himself and jogs to the nearest walkway canopy when he hears someone cough.

“Oh Jesus,” the guy coughs again. He pounds his chest and takes a black handkerchief out from his pocket and coughs in it.

“You okay?” He asks because he’s not an animal, and there’s nobody around to help the guy if he passes out.

The guy wheezes then pound his chest again. “What?” Oof, that looked painful.

“I asked if you were okay but clearly not,” he reaches behind and opens his backpack with one arm to get his water container. He offers it to him. “Here,” he says.

The guy, red in the face from hacking his lungs out, looks at him with appreciation and takes it. Cute. He gulps a mouthful of water before coughing again, making the water spill from his mouth and all over his chin.

“Hey, hey, easy,” he rubs the guys back. It makes him think of a spooked horse.

The guy finally recovers and drinks the water without coughing again. He closes the lid and gives it back to Will. “Thanks. I didn’t know I needed that.” He smiles at him and wipes his chin.

And just like that, Will is hooked.

Holy shit, this guy is the cutest person he’s ever seen! He missed a few spots but he’s still the cutest!

“I’m Will. What’s your name?” For fuck’s sake, Solace, you’re in the middle of the walkway and you’re flirting with the guy?!

“Nico,” he says. A cute name for a cute guy. He has a long-time theory that people who have ‘C’ in their names are cute. This just proves it.

“Nico, wow. Are you new here? I’m a senior so I know most of the people here by face but I’ve never seen you before. And with a face like yours, I’d surely remember you.” Nice. Smooth. Just subtle.

Nico looks at him amusedly, like he’s watching a cat walking on its hind legs. “No, no, I’m new.” 

“Really? Cool. Welcome to New Rome then. You’ll enjoy it here.” He gives him his most charming smile and Nico’s face turns pink a little. A-fucking-dorable. Cute as a motherfucking button. An absolute babe. Toe beans personified. Stop it, you’re being creepy.

Nico’s faint blush turns a shade darker. “Thanks.” Jesus Christ, he wants so squish his cheeks.

“Where are you going?”

“To the cafeteria,”

“Really? I’m going there too! Why don’t we walk together?” He’s not, he’s going to the labs. Where his work is waiting. But it’s fine, it’s only a 5-minute walk from the cafeteria to the labs. He can totally make it in his 4:00 duty. 

“Sure,“

“What’s your major?” He is going to ask a lot of questions that he’s sure Nico is going to hate him at the end of this 8-minute walk.

“Uh… ancient history,”

“Wow, nice. Professor Chiron, right?”

“Yeah, but I only had one class with him.”

“He was my gen ed history professor and I learned a lot even though I hate history.”

“Yeah? What’s your major anyway?”

“Biology,”

“Wow, you’re gonna be a doctor?”

“That’s the plan,”

“That’s cool. Good luck,”

“Thanks!”

They talk and talk and talk and talk and when they arrive at the cafeteria, Will sits across Nico with his melon flavored milk and banana muffin with chocolate chips. He makes Nico laugh a couple of times with well-timed jokes and remarks that almost made him choke. Will has to buy him a juice box to dislodge his food from his throat since all he bought was a carrot muffin.

Will is in the middle of telling a poop-related story when Nico’s phone rings.

Nico looks at him apologetically and answers the phone. “Yeah?”

Will couldn’t hear shit of course, but the person on the other side seems pretty upset because they’re talking without pausing, and Nico keeps saying “uh-huh” and “alright”. Finally, the call ends and Nico is sliding his phone back to his pocket.

Nico looks absolutely crestfallen when he speaks, “Hey, Will, I’m sorry but I have to go now.”

“Was that your girlfriend?” He asks. He has to make sure.

“What? Oh no, that was my… friend? Yeah, that was my friend. She said we have to go home now.”

“Oh, okay.” He smiles at him but he’s sure it doesn’t reach his eyes. “No worries. Take care.”

Nico reluctantly stands up and goes. 

Will is disappointed. Of course he’s disappointed, they’ve only been talking for what, he looks at his watch, holy shit they’ve been talking for two hours straight! Aw, man, the lab is already closed and he didn’t even get his number! 

Goodbye, cute guy named Nico. He’s positive he won’t see him again unless he hangs around the history department, which is impossible because the L-building is way too far from the history department.

Will pouts as he clears away their trash. He stacks their trays together with the trash scrunched inside his fist when he sees Nico come back, panting.

“Hey, Neeks, nice to see you again,”

“I uh… this is my number,” he places a piece of paper on the tray and runs away.

Will carefully places the trays back on the table and smiles dumbly at the piece of paper.

_ 510-555-0131 _ _  
_ _ Thanks for the water and juice! _

_ \- N _


	2. I Can Sit Awake From Midnight to Daylight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico tunes out the conversation, preferring to look out the window and watch as they pass by the trees and power lines, counting the minutes until he’s finally home to look at his phone in hopes that Will has texted him on the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in one day?! _gasps_
> 
> Okay, I've kind of written "most" of it now but I still have to add and remove some things. That's why I said that this fic will be completed by the 2nd or 3rd week of September.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this Nico POV!
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's Chloe.

Jason gets out of the car and moves the seat so Nico could get in. Nico hurriedly climbs in and sits his ass down.

“Who’d you give that piece of paper, Neeks?” Jason asks.

“None of your business, Jace.”

“Oooh, is it a boy? Did you meet a boy while you were out by yourself?” Percy sings along, looking at Nico from the rear-view mirror. Annabeth is speaking on the phone in the passenger seat.

He pouts and folds his arms. “Shut up, Jackson. It’s none of your business too!”

“Oooh,” Leo joins in. “Nico’s got a cruuush!”

“Leave me alone, morons. So what if I give my number to someone?”

“Are you finally gonna stop being cranky now that you’ve given your number to someone?” Piper inquires. At least she’s not joining in.

“No...” he pouts even harder, if that’s possible. “Maybe.” Nico turns around, eyes lingering in the cafeteria doors just in case Will comes out. He’s really cute and persistent.

“Good enough for me.” She turns to her boyfriend. “Stop it guys, he’s gonna chase us with chicken nuggets again. I don’t want cooking oil on my clothes.”

Annabeth finally pockets her phone and turns to Nico. Why is everybody obsessed with him today?! “Nico, where’s Hazel? Figured we’ll just pick her up and Frank. You know, so they don’t have to ride the bus to the city.”

Nico leans in and says, “Hazel’s at the LA building. Frank’s at H.”

“We’re almost at LA, should we just wait for her to come out or do we all have to go in and pick her up?” Percy asks as he kills the engine.

“No need. You’re all too recognizable. I’ll get her.” He grabs a beanie behind his headrest and wears it, then Jason gets out of the car and moves the seat again. He jumps out of the car and casually walks inside, not drawing attention to himself. He’s good at that. That’s why only a few fans ask for his picture when he’s out alone.

He fishes his phone out and texts Hazel.

**[Me]** **  
** are u done with classes?   
im in LA. by the bulletin boards

**[Hazel Levesque]** **  
** I’m done. Getting out in a while.

“Hey, Nico!” Hazel claps his shoulders, interrupting his reading about the latest play the drama majors are going to do.

“Hey,” he pecks a kiss on her cheek. “Let’s go. We’ll pick Frank at H.”

“You brought the SUV?”

“Yeah, Percy and Jason wanted to look at the venue even though we told them countless times Annabeth already has the size of the place.”

“Aw, just let them. They miss the place, can you blame them? Don’t tell me you don’t miss coming in.”

“I don’t.” He deadpans.

“You can’t fool me, you know. I know you liked your ancient history classes.”

“I did like them but that doesn’t mean I miss taking them.”

“Hm, true. Come on. Let’s pick my boyfriend up.” Hazel grabs Nico’s hand and they walk out the doors, holding hands.

It’s Leo’s turn to get out of the car and move the seat so Hazel and Nico can get in. Then Percy drives away, going straight to the infamous H building.

**[Me]** **  
** wait at the entrance, we’re coming to get you.

**[Francis Zhang]** **  
** **👍**

“Where’s Frank?” Percy asks, looking around for Frank.

“I told him to wait at the entrance.”

“Okay, I’m just gonna go in and stop at the front, ‘kay?”

Percy enters the H’s driveway and they all see Frank standing by the water fountain waiting for them. Percy honks and Frank waves at them. Percy stops in front of him and Leo goes out to let him in.

“Hey guys, what brings you here?” Frank greets.

“Percy and Jason got handed an excuse to go back so they grabbed it. We looked at the venue. It’s really big, huh? Wonder how much they spent on that stage or if the alumni committee donated that.” Annabeth answers for all of them.

“It’s a university project. Last year’s president proposed that to the chancellor and they okay-ed it.” Frank says.

“It looks great,”

“It is. They’re actually holding the graduation there next year instead of the gym.”

“Cool! Can we play at graduation next year? I wanna see what it looks like to be surrounded by dirt and dust!” Leo interjects.

Annabeth looks over and says, “We can’t do that, Leo. It’s a graduation ceremony. If they’re playing anything there it’s the Pomp and Circumstance.”

“It has a name?!” All of them exclaimed except Hazel and Frank. 

“Yes, but it’s also called the graduation march.”

Nico tunes out the conversation, preferring to look out the window and watch as they pass by the trees and power lines, counting the minutes until he’s finally home to look at his phone in hopes that Will has texted him on the road.

**[510-555-0177]**   
Hi  😁

**[Me]**   
who is this?   
howd you get my number?

**[510-555-0177]**   
Sorry, is this not Nico?

**[Me]**   
no. how did you get my number???   
who is this???

**[510-555-0177]**   
Ah, sorry. He must have given me a fake one.   
I’m Will. Sorry to bother you.

Nico chokes in his toothpaste foam, swallowing most of it, and pokes his tonsil with his toothbrush. He gags. Fuck fuck! Back it up, di Angelo! Holy shit!

**[Me]**   
no no no!!! sorry this is nico!!

**[510-555-0177]**   
That’s good to hear! I thought you’ve given me a fake number

**[Me]**   
i would never! sorry, i’m just being careful.    
i’ve had ppl prank call me before   
so i only give my number to ppl I know   
i dont want to change my number every 10 days

**[510-555-0177]**   
Wow that sounds rough   
Did you really experience that?

**[Me]**   
yeah. i kept changing numbers for 3 months.   
it was hell   
whats your full name btw?

**[510-555-0177]**   
Oof. I couldn’t imagine changing my number every 10 days   
I get really attached to things. I’ve been using this number since 2010   
It’s William Solace. Why?

**[Me]**   
i like saving the full name of ppl in my contacts   
so if i go missing the police could easily track the last ppl i’ve been in contact with   
wow!!!!!!!!

**[William Solace]**   
Smart. For me I just save their first name   
Should I put “Nico” or “Nicholas” for your contact name?

**[Me]**   
nico’s fine. nobody rly calls me nicholas. it’s weird when ppl call me that

**[William Solace]**   
Nico it is. Do you have any socials? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram?

Shit. Would he suspect anything if he tells him he doesn’t have any SNS? Who doesn’t even have SNS in these times? Plenty of people but that’s different. He has a public Twitter account but it’s his  _ band  _ twitter account. Should he share his private Twitter with him?

He quickly exits the messaging app and goes to his private (anime stan) twitter. Fucking hell, he has over 5000 tweets in this thing. He doesn’t have time to go over everything so he clicks the media button. Okay, 159 photos that should be easy to go through. He scrolls as fast as he could and deletes a few backstage photos.

**[Me]**   
i deleted my facebook a few years ago. i dont have instagram but i have a private twitter   
my handle is darklord128

**[William Solace]**   
😆😆😆😆😆   
You’re cute 😆😆😆

**[Me]**   
shut up 😡 it’s my nickname in high school   
perce gave me that nickname and it stuck   
and i made this account in 2009

**[William Solace]**   
Who’s “perce”? I’m assuming that’s a name

Oh wow, he really has no idea who he is.

**[Me]**   
my friend

**[William Solace]**   
Is he cute?

**[Me]**   
why do you wanna know?

**[William Solace]**   
Nothing. Just making sure I have the upper hand if we’re competing for the same person   
If you know what I mean 🤪🤪

Nico blushes  _ hard. _ He’s still in front of the mirror washing his face so he managed to see the transformation of his face from pale to roma tomato in a matter of seconds. Oh my god! Can this person be more obvious?! But shit, he’s digging it. He’s digging it  _ so fucking hard. _

**[Me]**   
shut up!! perce is not a competition since he has a gf, but i have other male friends tho   
theres leo and jace

Jason is with Piper and Leo is making a move to the manager of this girl group, Cologne, that their label handles, so they’re not threats either. But he doesn’t have to know that, does he?

**[William Solace]**   
Well, whoever they are, I’m sure I’m more interesting than them   
<attachment: image0351.jpeg>

It’s a selfie of Will posing with a baby goat behind a hut. There are thick woods behind him so he’s probably near the agricultural department. They used to hang out there back when they were still in college. 

It’s fucking adorable. 

**[Me]**   
cute ❤️

**[William Solace]**   
Who, me or the baby goat? 😜

**[Me]**   
oh def the baby goat   
look at those rectangle pupils 😍   
he looks like hes abt to summon satan 💞💞

**[William Solace]**   
Ouch 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭   
But if it’s him you want I understand   
I can’t compete with those long lashes, yellow eyes, cloven hooves   
And the fact that he’s freshly out of the womb 😢😢😢😢

**[Me]**   
oh man hes a minor?!   
damn, hes off limits then   
if i cant have him i guess youll do

**[William Solace]**   
YESSS!!! ✊😃

**[Me]**   
what kind of emoji is that? 🤣

**[William Solace]**   
It’s obviously a fist pump   
They don’t have it yet so I’m making my own

**[Me]**   
youre weird 🤣

**[William Solace]**   
You like it tho? 😜😜😜😜😜

His heart pitter-patters in his chest and God help him, he does.    
  
**[Me]**   
i kinda do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos if you liked it!
> 
> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)!
> 
> Say hi on [Tumblr](http://haatorii.tumblr.com/)!


	3. I’m Just A Schoolboy, I Got No Ehh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys text some more!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an excuse for me to bitch about Steve Rogers' character development in Endgame jk
> 
> I don't think there are any content warnings for this chapter, but if I missed any please tell me so I can tag it properly. Thanks! ♥♥  
> 
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's song Schoolboy

Will bounces in his feet as he enters the lab the next day at exactly 7:30. 

“Someone’s chipper today. What happened to you? Did you find a dollar or something?” Cecil asks him. He’s always the first one in the lab since he’s living at the boy’s dorm annex. It’s a tad bit farther than the boy’s dorm but relatively cleaner.

“Or something,” he answers, smiling. “I met someone yesterday and he’s so cute he’s like a 16-year-old who hasn’t gotten over his emo phase. We talked the whole night! Look at me!” He drops his bag on the counter and grabs his lab coat from the racks. And for emphasis, he gestures at his face, showing them his dark circles from staying up almost the whole night.

A figure emerges from the attached toilet. “So, like a middle schooler?” Lou Ellen asks.

“No, no! I know that look, Lou Ellen, he’s not a middle schooler. He goes here. He’s like new or something.”

“What year is he?” She asks again.

“I don’t know. Does it matter? He’s in the history department.”

“Uh, yes? If he’s 17 that is. He could be in college _and_ still be a minor.”

“No, I swear he’s of legal age. Wait, I’m going to ask him.” He gets his phone from his pocket and texts Nico.

 **[Me]**  
Hey, I told my friends about you so  
now they’re asking me if you’re minor.  
You’re not, are you?

Nico doesn’t reply. He reckons he’s still asleep so he doesn’t bother sending another text and slides his phone back to his pocket.

“He’s not replying, probably still asleep. Said he has to come in at 10:00 today. Lucky bastard.” He chuckles like it’s the funniest thing ever.

Lou Ellen narrows her eyes at him. Probably still not convinced Nico is real AND an adult. “Seems suspicious, Solace, but you have a valid excuse. You're on thin ice though for not showing up yesterday. What's up with that, by the way?"

Will beams at them and tells the story of why he didn't show up for work. He doesn't stop until well after an hour when Prof. Hester, one of their advisers, comes in and asks for their progress. Will, being their project leader, answers her in great detail and even suggested a few more tests using other variables to back up their gathered data. Prof. Hester agrees and she leaves them alone again to go to her class. Will gives her a grin and a salute then he's back to telling more stories to his two friends.

By 9:15, his phone alerts him of a text message. He removes his protective glasses and unlocks his phone. It’s from Nico.

 **[Nico]**  
im 20, why?

He grins as he types ‘nothing’.

“Hey guys,” he says, calling the attention of Lou Ellen and Cecil.

“What is it?” Cecil asks, not removing his eyes from the microscope.

“Look,” he shows them his conversation with Nico. “He says he’s twenty!” He sticks his tongue at them and dances all the way to his work station. Lou Ellen rolls her eyes.

 **[Me]**  
What are you up to today? 🤔🤔

 **[Nico]**  
nothing much. just a few lectures. 

**[Me]**  
What year are you btw? I forgot to ask last night

Nico doesn’t reply immediately so he packs his bag and says goodbye to his friends for a while. He drops by the faculty room to place their findings on Prof. Hester’s desk.

 **[Nico]**  
3rd yr, i think? i failed a couple of classes a while back  
im not even sure what year i am this school year  
so im taking them now  
im in the middle of a lecture actually

 **[Me]**  
Holy shit, I’m sorry!  
You don’t have to reply to this. I don’t want to distract you  
I was supposed to ask you if we could have lunch today  
But you’re busy so let’s have lunch next time!

 **[Nico]**  
you sure send a lot of messages for someone who doesn’t want  
me to get distracted 🤣  
but yeah, let’s have lunch next time  
looking forward to it 

**[Me]**  
Cool! Just send me your schedule.  
I only have 2 classes on Mondays & Thursdays  
Only 1 class on Tuesdays & Fridays  
And like everyone else who's done with gym class  
I’m free every Wednesday  
Okay, gotta stop texting you  
You’re busy learning  
Bye!  
😘😘😘😘😘😘

Will eats his lunch and thinks of the perfect place on campus where they could have their lunch(date?).

By 2:30 PM, he’s back at the conference room with his officers discussing the upcoming school festival and the pending tasks they have to update. Katie, thank heavens, already sent the letter to the rental place and the vice-chancellor’s secretary has replied to Gus’ letter. She finally agreed to turn the huge chunk of land behind the gym into their food court. They already have a list of students and companies who want to sell their goods during the festival and all they have to do is send an email informing them about their designated spots and price of the rent (for the food companies). 

As for the events, the medals and trophies, according to Charles, are ready and in storage, and the pageant is good to go according to Drew. She even got plenty of sponsors for the event. She smiles smugly when Will commends her for it. 

The judges are picked, umpires selected, the bands, and various acts for the student’s night are fixed. The parade during the opening day is planned, they have sent the invitations (and received their replies) to the most important people in the university, the different colleges and departments are set, the medics are organized. **Everything is ready.**

Will locks the door behind him with a smile, giddy for the biggest event of his political career. Yeah, yeah, graduation is the biggest event but it’s not as fun as the festival! And if the whole thing goes according to plan, organizing the graduation will be a piece of cake. 

  
  


**[Me]**  
What are your hobbies?

 **[Nico]**  
whats this, 20 questions?

 **[Me]**  
Something like that.  
Come on, what are your hobbies?

 **[Nico]**  
well, i like playing bass and  
watching anime, as you can see from the contents of  
my twitter account

 **[Me]**  
Bass? Like bass guitar? Are you any good with it?  
Who isn’t about anime? I used to watch a lot of anime  
when I was in high school but it’s been a long time  
since I watched one

 **[Nico]**  
eh i like to think im pretty good with it 🤷♂️  
what about you, what are your hobbies?

 **[Me]**  
Well, I do a lot of things so I don’t know what I really like  
Do you have a band?!

 **[Nico]**  
not even online games or idk nerd stuff?

 **[Me]**  
What do you mean nerd stuff?  
Do I look like a nerd to you? 🤓  
If anything, you’re the nerd.  
With your ancient history and anime 😆😆😆😆  
I bet you get turned on when someone could  
name more than 5 of Egyptian deities 

**[Nico]**  
youre the nerd! you type all proper and shit  
and youre studying biology 🌎🌱  
excuse me my focus is on ancient greece  
also, egyptian mythology is just as interesting as greek  
and roman so anybody with working 🧠 should be able to name at least 10

 **[Me]**  
So? Plenty of people study biology  
and they’re not nerds!  
CALM DOWN, NERD 🤓🤓🤓🤣🤣🤣

 **[Nico]**  
you can’t convince me otherwise, nerd 🤓😝

 **[Me]**  
Nah, I’m just messing with you. I am a nerd 🤓  
I admit that  
I could name at least 50 🦕🦖  
And I could talk for hours discussing Naruto  
And how much they butchered Captain America’s  
character development in the MCU

 **[Nico]**  
they rly did, no?  
they wasted all that character development in tws  
endgame wasnt perfect, they did natasha dirty, but it was good  
if you ignore their blatant disrespect for natasha  
and steve's godforsaken journey in returning the stones

 **[Me]**  
RIGHT?????!!!!!!!! I’M STILL MAD AT THAT!!!!!!  
BUCKY!!!! STEVE WAS PLAYING HOUSE WITH PEGGY  
WHILE BUCKY WAS BEING TORTURED SOMEWHERE??  
AND PEGGY!!!!!!! PEGGY HAD A LIFE!!!!! SHE HAD DANIEL SOUSA  
DANIEL MOTHERFUCKING SOUSA  
I’m okay. I’m okay.  
Sorry.  
I still get stressed out when I remember that.

 **[Nico]**  
DONT WORRY  
IM MAD AS HELL TOO  
HES LIVING HIS APPLE PIE LIFE AS IF NATASHA WERENT  
GETTING TOTRURED BY HYDRA SMEWHERE  
AND SHIT THAT STEVE WHO RETURNDE WAS 2025 STEVE  
WHAT THE FCUK HAPPENED TO THE STEVE UNDER THE ICE???  
OLD MAN STEVE CAME BACK BUT HE WAS 2025 STEVE  
WAHT HAPPENED TO 1945 STEVE I NEED ANSWERS JESÚS

 **[Me]**  
Steve Rogers really got us worked up, huh? 🤣🤣

 **[Nico]**  
IT’S YUOR FAULT!!!!! YOU STARTED IT!!!!  
I CANT GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD  
IF ANABEHT GETSM AD AT ME LATER IN PRCATICE IM TELLING  
HER IT’S YUOR FAULT YOU MADE ME THINK ABT STVEN FUCKING  
ROGERS AGAIN  
SHE BANNED THIS TALK A WEEK AFTER WE ALL WATCHED ENDGAEM

Will cackles to himself as he reads the text, feeling Nico’s fury bleed out his phone. It’s so funny how something as simple as this aggravates Nico to no end. 

**[Me]**  
NERD!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 **[Nico]**  
SHUT UPPPP!!!!!!!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡  
  
It has been a week and a half since they started texting every day. They still haven’t had their lunch(date?) yet but Will is determined to take Nico out one of these days. He couldn’t take him to a nice restaurant though, he’s a broke college student who earns enough just to get by from being a student researcher after all. Nico does not seem picky so he hopes, he _really_ hopes, he doesn’t mind if they have their lunch(date?) in the middle of the park, eating homemade cold sandwiches and drinking coke.

 **[Me]**  
Hey, I hate to keep asking you but  
are we still up for lunch sometime this week?

 **[Nico]** **  
** IM STILL KINDA MAD SO IM GONNA KEEP USING CAPS FOR A WHILE  
HOLY SHIT SORRY I FORGOT  
YEAH DEF  
LEMME CHECK MY CALENDAR

Nico doesn’t reply for at least 10 minutes. Will is ready to give up when he receives a reply.

 **[Nico]** **  
** i have calmed down  
im free for 2 hrs this wednesday lunch  
where do you wanna meet?

 **[Me]**  
Just at the park 😁

 **[Nico]**  
the one beside the gym?

 **[Me]**  
Yup!

 **[Nico]**  
the one beside the preschool?

 **[Me]**  
Yeah!

 **[Nico]**  
ok?? do i have to bring anything?

 **[Me]**  
Nope! Just bring your cute lil butt and  
I’ll take care of the rest 😜😜

 **[Nico]**  
that seems suspicious.  
i just wanna tell you im allergic to 🦀🦑🦐  
nothing grave, just cant breath when i have them

 **[Me]**  
Holy shit, that’s dangerous!  
Do you have an epipen?

 **[Nico]**  
no. i told you im allergic so i dont eat them  
never had the urge  
and i always ask if theres shellfish in everything i eat

 **[Me]**  
I’m bringing one just in case.  
Someone has to when we’re hanging out

 **[Nico]**  
what if youre not there and i accidentally ate one?

 **[Me]**  
Oh you’re not getting rid of me anytime soon  
Even if you don’t like me that way  
I’d still wanna be your friend

Shit. That’s too much, isn’t it? Is that too much? Did he shoot himself in the foot for being overconfident? Was he too cocky? Fuck him, he just lost his chance to date this gorgeous man!!!

 **[Nico]**  
i’d like that

What kind of answer is that? Should he be worried or celebrating?? He chooses to ignore it to reply to something else and dwell on it later.

 **[Me]**  
Aww 😍😘  
I’m sorry to go so early but I still have places to be 😘  
Talk to you later, Neeks.  
See you on Wednesday! 😘😘😘🥰🥰🥰

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think!
> 
> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)!
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://haatorii.tumblr.com/)!


	4. The Night's So Young, Let's Set It On Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date night!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Gasps!_ two chapters again in one day??? lol
> 
> I had fun writing this chapter, I hope you enjoy it! ♥♥
> 
>  **CW:** emeto
> 
> I put a little _lore_ at the end notes for some shit that happened in this chapter.
> 
> Please tell me if I missed any tags!  
> 
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's Youth. This is such a fun song you guys should listen to it!!

“You’ve been texting that boy an awful lot, huh?” Piper teases as Nico puts his phone away. They are about to start rehearsing and he just told Will he has to study.

“No, I don’t. I text him the normal amount.” He reasons out because that’s the truth. They only talk the normal amount. They don’t spend every night staying up until 1:30 AM to talk. That only happened once. Okay, maybe three times but that’s it.

“Don’t get snappy at me, mister. I’m not telling you to stop talking to him, I’m just stating facts,”

“I’m just stating facts, nyeh nyeh” he says mockingly. Piper rolls her eyes and ruffles his hair.

Nico swats her hands away but Piper hugs him tight, trapping his arms on his side. “Just be careful, okay? And don’t hesitate to talk to us.”

He purses his lips in protest but softens against her chest. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

  
  


“Let’s go to the carnival tomorrow!” Percy suggests at lunch.

“Carnival?” Nico asks.

“Yeah, it’s the city’s foundation anniversary. The traveling carnival is here.”

“Oh, right.”

“So, you all in?”

“Yeah! Let’s ride that Octopus thing! The one that spins super fast for 5 minutes with no seatbelts and over-the-shoulder restraints. It’s gonna be fun!” Jason excitedly says as he bites his sandwich.

“That sounds unsafe. I’m in!” Piper agrees.

“That’s two. Nico? Babe? Leo?” 

“The food truck that sells that extra spicy somtam is gonna be there, Perc?” Leo asks.

“I think so, yeah. They’ve been participating for like 2 years now.”

“I’m in! And I wanna ride that Octopus thing!”

“You’re all insane. You especially,” Annabeth says, flicking Percy’s ear. “I’m gonna go, just so somebody could watch over you two.” She points at her boyfriend and Jason who’s grinning from ear to ear.

“Yes! You’re the best, babe!” Percy kisses Annabeth’s cheek and leans over to Nico’s personal space.

“Neeks?” He asks, using his best imitation of ‘puppy eyes’. He even makes his lower lip tremble a little. Nico rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to answer.

“Don’t force him, Perc. He’s got a hot date tomorrow with that cute blond guy!” Piper says before he could even answer.

Percy turns his head to Piper so fast they all hear his neck crack. Jason and Piper wince for him. “For real?!”

Nico glares at her but she giggles so maybe he doesn’t look that scary. Leo snickers but he ignores him, preferring to give all his attention to Piper who is currently about to spill everything to their other bandmates.

“The cute blond, what was his name again? Winston?” Annabeth says Will. “Yes. Will asked our darling boy here on a date tomorrow!”

“Oh man, this is great! Let him come tomorrow, we wanna meet him!”

“Over my dead body, Jackson! You too, Grace.”

“Aw, why?” Percy complains and at the same time, Jason whines “Not fair!”

“Because you’re gonna do that weird brother thing and you’re gonna scare him away!”

“When did we do that? Name a time when we did that.” Jason asks.

“Michael at the Japanese restaurant,” Piper answers.

“Finley in the middle of dance dance revolution,” Annabeth supplies.

“Caleb on our way to introduce him to Bianca and their dad,” Leo says.

Nico joins in. “Roman, literally right after he gave me his phone number!” 

“Okay, first, Michael insulted the whole Japanese cuisine.” Percy starts, Jason nods his head. “Finley,” he says his name exaggeratedly, prolonging the -ey. “Said he’s going to date Nico so hard and I don’t know what that means but it sounded wrong and dangerous.” Percy spreads his arms like he’s showing them something.

“Caleb insulted Bianca! You all know what he did and we can’t have that! Uh-uh, not in our watch!” Jason throws his hands up. “And Roman, that fucking Roman.” He narrows his eyes like Roman cursed his family or something.

“Why, what about Roman?” Piper asks.

Jason shrugs. “He reminds me of Roman Sionis.” 

Percy folds his arms, nods and hums in agreement. “Yup. Roman Sionis vibes all over.”

“That’s it?” Annabeth looks at them, puzzled.

“Yup. That’s it.”

“That’s fucking stupid.” Annabeth scoffs. “You’re perfect for each other, you’re both morons.”

What stupid fucking reasons (except with Caleb’s. Fuck Caleb. He kneed him in the groin and threatened to let Mrs. O’Leary loose and chase him)! He’s been single this whole ass time and it’s all because of them? Nuh-uh. No way. No way he’s going to let these morons meet Will. Will is funny and cute and smart and hot. There’s no fucking way. But that shit with Roman???

“You fucking donkeys! That’s it?! A comic book douchebag?! That’s your fucking reason for threatening Roman?! I liked the fucking guy! I flirted with him all fucking night! I worked so hard for his number I was _this_ close to ripping my shirt off just to let him know I was interested! What the fuck?! _Gesù Cristo._ ” He rubs his temples, willing the impending headache to go away.

“Well, if we didn’t scare him off you won’t meet Will, right?” Percy smiles at him like a toddler trying to get away from his mess by being adorable. Which he is not, by a mile. But he has a point. If somebody asks him to choose between Will and Roman, he would pick Will in a heartbeat. He rolls his eyes.

“See? Our tactics have a purpose!” Percy and Jason high five while Nico gently pounds his head on the table because his friends are stupid yet he’d still do anything for them. Except let them meet Will.

  
  


**[William Solace]**  
Hey, sorry to interrupt if you’re doing something  
Can I get a ☔ on lunch?

[Me]  
an umbrella?

 **[William Solace]** **  
** Rain check

 _Oh_. A rain check on lunch. He was looking forward to it but it doesn’t matter now.

 **[Me]**  
yeah sure. is there a problem?

He has to ask. He’s not the problem, is he?

 **[William Solace]**  
Nothing. There’s no problem at all!

So Nico is the problem. But he has to know, so he types out his reply and hits send.

 **[Me]**  
did i do something?

 **[William Solace]**  
Oh no no! Sorry, I got way too excited and didn’t send the whole thing  
I called rain check on lunch because I thought of something more awesome  
than lunch  
Let’s go to the carnival tonight! 🎡🎠🎆🎇  
If that’s okay  
I’m not forcing you or anything

Nico releases the breath he did not know he was holding. God, thank fuck they’re just going to change the venue. He chuckles.

 **[Me]**  
thats a relief  
i thought you were bailing out on me 😆  
but yeah, lets go to the carnival  
been a long time since I last went to one

 **[William Solace]**  
Oh no. You’re stuck with me. I’m gonna stick with you like a leech in an abandoned cemetery. 💀💀

Nico laughs. He can feel his cheeks warming up.

 **[Me]**  
thats oddly specific.  
gonna back it up with a story?

 **[William Solace]**  
My mom and aunts visited their dad’s grave  
But it’s in the middle of this abandoned cemetery with vines EVERYWHERE  
It was also damp  
I wanted to come but she said there might be leeches and whatnot  
They went in and after 5 minutes they all ran out screaming  
They got leeches all over them but they quickly brushed them off  
My aunt didn’t notice one was still attached to the skin between her thumb & index finger  
So she screamed and burned it with match🔥

 **[Me]**  
thats quite unsettling  
it’s a good story tho  
could turn a few heads and possibly nature activists  
but it’s a good story 👍👍

 **[William Solace]**  
Thank you, I aim to please 🙇♂️  
Do you wanna have dinner somewhere else or what?

 **[Me]**  
no! i wanna eat carnival foods 🌭🍔🍿🥨

 **[William Solace]**  
Good choice!  
See you later at 8! 😘😘

 **[Me]**  
see you

Okay. Okay. Calm down. No need to panic. He just has to look out for Percy and the others later. He can do that, right? That’s easy! There will be plenty of people and Jason sticks out like a sore thumb because of his height and hair, and he’d know if Percy is close by listening around. He can trust the girls and maybe Leo, but he can’t keep a secret so he’d have to watch out for him too.

**[William Solace]**  
I’m at the entrance, where are you?

 **[Me]**  
im coming

 **[William Solace]**  
That’s what you’ll be saying when I give it to you 🥵🥵

 **[Me]**  
????

 **[William Solace]**  
Sorry that was inappropriate  
I don’t know why I even thought it was funny

Nico stops in his tracks to laugh. He is surprised but the innuendo is _not_ unwelcomed, to be honest. Still he appreciates him apologizing for it.

 **[Me]**  
lmao 🤣🤣  
it’s okay  
i dont mind

 **[William Solace]**  
Thanks but I’m not gonna do it again unless we explicitly agree to it  
We can talk about it later if you want though  
I’m all about consent, baby!

Nico is smiling broadly to his phone now. The people around him might think he’s crazy but he doesn’t care. This man is scared of offending him so much he offered to discuss sending dirty jokes!

 **[Me]**  
i see you

 **[William Solace]**  
Where are you?

 **[Me]**  
by the cotton candy stand

Nico observes Will as the other man frowns and looks around, clearly looking for him. The lights don't quite reach him so Nico doesn’t blame him for not seeing him. He waves his phone so he could grab Will’s attention. Will smiles broadly when he sees him and jogs to his direction.

“Hi,” he says, still smiling. Nico can’t help but smile back. “You look good! I like your clothes"

Nico’s face is fucking _warm._ Like a fucking school girl on a first date! “Hi,” he echoes. “Thanks. You look good too.” And he does! He’s wearing a fitted grey sweater, blue ripped jeans, and white sneakers. Nico wants to snap a picture and send it to Piper.

“Let’s go?” he asks, releasing Nico from his thoughts. He offers his arm like Nico is an old lady. He likes it. 

“Yeah,” Nico holds on to the fabric of his sweater and together they go inside.

“What’s wrong, Neeks? You don’t like it here? ‘Cus we can go,” Will says, looking at him with concern but still smiling.

Nico, agitated that his friends might see him with Will, doesn’t hear the question. He goes on his tiptoes when he sees a blond a few meters ahead of them. 

“Hey?” Will tries to grab his attention again.

“What?”

“I asked if you like it here or you’re just humoring me. It’s fine, we can go if you want.” Will shrugs, treating it like it’s not a big deal.

“No, no! It’s fine! I like it here. I like it here, it’s just… I think I saw someone I know. I just don’t want them to harass you if they see us.” Nico bites his lip guiltily as he looks behind them.

To his surprise, Will chuckles and puts his arm around him to tug him close. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. I can handle a little harassment from your friends. I told you, I’m an interesting person. They’re gonna like me.”

Nico can’t help but smile. This man is so confident with his whole being it’s funny. And he’s not gross or too macho or egocentric, he’s like a golden retriever and a cat merged into one person. He’s got a lot of stories, he’s smart, he’s responsible, he’s kind, funny, he looks at everything with child-like wonder. Nico must be wearing the world’s most rose-colored glasses because he just can’t find _any_ flaw in this hunk of a man! He probably farts a lot or burps the alphabet or likes crocs unironically but that’s just fucking endearing. 

“Cheer up! If you keep on looking for anybody you know you’re not gonna enjoy yourself.” Will pinches his cheek. Nico lets him. “Come on, let’s ride the crazy ferris wheel!” He holds Nico’s hand and tugs him gently to buy tickets.

The ferris wheel is _terrifying._ First, it is too small, just enough for two adults or three small children, but hell if he’d let children near this deathtrap. Second, it creaks and it’s rusty. Third, and the worst of all, it spins way too fucking fast! It spins so fast their car (pod, capsule, what-fucking-ever) rocks the whole time! Nico screams the whole duration of the ride while Will scream-laughs in front of him, clutching anything and everything that he thinks is sturdy enough. Nico does the same, of course. By the end of the ride, they’re both screaming and giggling and a little bit dizzy.

Nico’s knees wobble a little bit and Will tries his best to stand upright. They look at each other and laugh again.

“That was fun,” he says, grinning from ear to ear.

“It was! You wanna do it again?”

“Oh no! I’ve had enough for a year!” Will snickers.

“You wanna eat?”

“If I eat right now I swear I’m gonna hurl. Let’s walk around first, see what’s around, and then eat.”

“Sure!”

They stroll around, dodging people and Nico trying his best not to buy everything that looks even remotely interesting. He manages to buy a new cell phone case, a wooden recorder, and handmade earrings and bangles for his sisters. They go inside a stall that sells anything possum related and they see a shirt that says ‘Let’s Eat Trash & Get Hit By A Car’ with a picture of a screaming possum in the middle. It cracks them both so much he buys two and gives one to Will. He sees shirts that say Trashy & Sassy and Eat Trash, Hail Satan so he buys two of each for his friends and a few socks and pins for his sisters and Frank.

“Wow, you really went to town with the possum merch,” Will says as he offers to hold Nico’s bag of possum-related goods. Will bought raccoon socks and a shirt that says Be Free, Eat Trash, Death is Coming.

“It’s okay, thanks. I love possums. They’re fucking weird looking animals! Like raccoons on steroids.”

After shopping they stop by a taco food truck to buy food. They eat while exchanging funny encounters with animals (Will got chased by a wild turkey and a goose) and unfortunate incidents (Will placing firecrackers on a fresh dog turd and lighting it on fire. It exploded and he got shit bits on his leg. Nico pretended to gag a few times). When they’re done eating, they go back inside and gamble on a game of chance. Nico wins $5 after betting $3, while Will wins $20 for his $5.

Nico and Will ride three more questionable rides; an imitation of the viking pirate ship ride, the Octopus ride that Jason was frothing his mouth about, and what looks like a roller coaster for kids who want to play it safe in life. He nearly shat his pants in the fake pirate ship because of how unsafe it was, while the mini roller coaster was just sad. The Octopus though. The Octopus was _the_ shit. Every tentacle has two cars that rotate while the tentacles themselves go round and up and down for 3-4 minutes. It was hell.

Nico was positive he peed himself a little, just a little, but it was totally worth it because he was holding Will’s hand while screaming the entire time.

Nico doesn’t hurl after the ride. He whoops and drags Will out of the ride, still high from all the spinning, and hugs him tight.

“That was so fucking fun!” His throat is raw from all the screaming while his cheeks hurt from smiling too much.

“Right? Holy shit, this is the best night ever! Do you wanna ride something else?” Will says, also smiling. He never really stopped smiling since they met at the entrance.

“What rides do they have left?”

“They got the horror train and the Galactic. I’m not even going to suggest the horror train because I’m pretty sure it smells like piss in there.”

“Ew. So, the Galactic then?” Nico asks. He looks ahead of Will, trying to see the ride but changes his mind when he sees it. “On the other hand, let’s not. I think I’ve had enough spinning tonight. Any more and the tacos we had earlier are gonna make a appearance.”

“Yeah, let’s stop while we’re at the peak.” Will agrees. He offers his arm again to Nico and this time he takes it.

They stopped by another food truck for some milkshakes. They’re sweaty and the whole place is humid despite being in an open field. It must have been the influx of people. It is the middle of the week, so a lot of people are looking for places to unwind.

The colorful light bulbs twinkle above them and if Nico doesn’t focus, they look like glimmering stars. He smiles as he sips his matcha-flavored milkshake.

“What is it?” Will asks.

“Nothing, just the light bulbs. They look like stars if you don’t focus on them. They glimmer.”

Will tries it. “I don’t see it.”

“Hm, see that green car over there?” He points ahead of them. Will leans in closer, trying to see where he’s pointing. He smells good. “Look at it but like you’re in a trance.”

“How do I do that?”

“How do you do what?”

“Look like I’m in a trance.”

Nico chuckles. “I don’t know! Maybe like this?” He relaxes his face so his eyelids would droop, and tilts his head up so he’s looking at the car through his lashes. There it is, the beautiful glimmer of the light bulbs.

“Okay, okay. Let me try,” Will half-closes his eyes and tilts his head, his blond hair gently bouncing to the side. Nico wants to touch it. “Woah, you’re right! It is beautiful!”

“Right?” Nico says, then he sees suspicious movement a few meters behind Will. It’s Piper and Annabeth wearing hats. Annabeth with her New York Yankees one and Piper with her dark blue bucket hat. He meets their eyes. Shit.

Annabeth smiles widely while Piper waves her hand excitedly at him. He makes a face at them, silently pleading not to tell their boyfriends and Leo what they’re seeing. A few seconds later, Leo comes and Piper quickly turns him around and walks away with him, leaving Annabeth to order their food. She leaves without recognizing him again. He releases a huff of breath.

“Are you tired?” Will asks.

“Yeah, but it’s a good tired. You know what I mean?”

“Oh, I do. The adrenaline must’ve worn off already.”

“That must be it.” Nico drinks another gulp of his frankly tasty milkshake holy shit he loves this! “Hey, about the dirty jokes?”

“Yeah, what about them? You don’t like it? It’s fine. I don’t even know why I did it.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I’m fine with it, at least in small amounts.”

“Okay,” Will gives him a lopsided grin. It makes him want to pound his fist on the table and yank out the butterflies in his stomach. “You got,” he points around his mouth. Nico tries to wipe it off with the back of his hand. “No, the other side. A little more to the side, okay. No, wait. Lemme just,” Will wipes it himself and licks his thumb. 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! _Inmaculada Concepción!_ Saints! Deities! Gods and Goddesses! 

Nico blushes _furiously._ He looks down and bites his lips because he wants to whine _so bad_ and maybe cry a little bit. Who the fuck does that? Really, who the fuck does that? Who the fuck wipes a little cream from the corner of their date’s mouth and licks it?! Fictional characters, that’s who! Holy shit!!!! Nico has no fucking idea if he’s just horny or if he’s in the last stages of a fucking _touch famine._ Not starve, it is straight-up famine now.

“You’re really tired now, aren’t you?” Will asks again with concern in his voice.

“What? Uh, yeah, probably,” Nico lets out a couple of nervous laughs to hide whatever it is he’s hiding. A boner? Probably. Who knows at this point. 

“It’s okay if you’re tired. It’s a school night and we still have classes tomorrow. Come on, I’ll see you off.” Will says.

They throw their half-empty trash and exit the carnival. They go straight to the parking lot where Nico parked his bike earlier.

“Did you get here by bus? I could take you home if you did. It’s late so we probably missed the last bus.”

“Oh no, I brought my bike with me,” Nico says.

“Okay. That’s great. Where is it?” Nico points it to him.

“Woah, this is nice.” Will awes, feeling the leather seat cover.

“It’s my dad’s old bike. He gave it to me when I got my license.”

“It’s really beautiful.”

Nico stands close to Will, pulling his attention away from his motorcycle. “I enjoyed tonight.” He says.

“That’s good. Me too. I enjoyed it a lot.”

“Shall we… do another one soon?” Nico asks sheepishly. Although there is a 98% chance Will would agree, he’s a tad scared that he would refuse.

“Absolutely! Just tell me when and I’ll come with a basket of cold sandwiches and coke.”

Nico laughs at himself for even doubting the other man. “Okay. Maybe next week?”

“Sure,”

Nico hugs him goodnight, which Will returns, and goes home with a smile on his face and a flutter in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the [Trashy & Sassy](https://teeherivar.com/product/trashy-and-sassy-possum/) shirt. 
> 
> The [possum socks](https://www.redbubble.com/i/socks/Opossum-Pattern-2-by-Macbendigo/43414415.9HZ1B).
> 
> The [Eat Trash, Hail Satan](https://memshirts.com/product/possum-eat-trash-hail-satan-shirt/) shirt.
> 
> And the [Be Free, Eat Trash, Death Is Coming](https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Trash-Panda-Meme-by-ShayneoftheDead/26863541.IJ6L0) shirt.
> 
> The traveling carnival, we always have them in my city 3x/year: the city's foundation anniversary, another festival in September, and every Christmas. All the rides are probably decades old, especially the ferris wheel, that's why they're all scary and totally unsafe. The last time I went to the carnival was 3 years ago with my co-workers. We rode the pirate ship and the ferris wheel. They were fucking scary but it got fun by the end, even more so when the car we were in started swinging back and forth like it's just a leaf in the wind. The last time I rode the Galactic was back in 2013.
> 
> The "leeches in the abandoned cemetery" was a real event. I was with my family, we were supposed to visit my grandfather but when we got there, there were vines everywhere, the ground was damp, and there were probably snakes so my mom told us to stay outside. She went in with her sisters and after a few minutes they all went out screaming. One of my aunts missed one so when she looked down, a leech was already an inch thick.
> 
> And the dog turd was true, it was me who put firecrackers in it. Just small firecrackers, like matchsticks. I put five in it, like a birthday candle, and lit them up. I didn't get dog shit on me though, that was my neighbor.
> 
> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)!
> 
> Tell me what you think!
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://haatorii.tumblr.com/)!


	5. I'm Sippin Cocktails, Fish Scales, Falling For Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will has more stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this was late because the internet was shit for 2 days :D
> 
> Hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's [Spun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWViLXy6UC0).

“You’re such a lovely cup, why don’t cha fill me up? All these reasons too hard to explain,” Will sings while he sorts out cockroaches from pile to pile.

“Will, will you stop singing that damn song for two seconds?! I’m trying to concentrate here and I can’t do it with you suddenly changing your volume!” 

“Whoop, that’s double Will. You gotta pay up, Lou.” Cecil says monotonously without shifting his gaze from the graduated pipette he’s filling up.

Lou Ellen sneers at the two of them. She grabs a dollar from her purse, crumples it, and throws it in their small jar by the printer.

Will doesn’t even look at her, or Cecil. Nothing can ruin his mood right now, not even Clarisse or the Stolls. He’s walking on sunshine, frolicking in the clouds, he’s got a pocketful of sunshine, he’s caught a shooting star and put it in his pocket, he’s in a great fucking mood.

It’s been a week since his successful carnival date with Nico and they have been talking  _ every. Single. Day.  _ It’s fun! And they went on an impromptu road trip that Sunday. It’s not even a road trip, they just drove to this paragliding spot an hour outside the city and had dinner. He kissed Nico on the cheek before seeing him off. 

This is the most fun he’s ever had with someone he’s not dating! But he wants to change that soon. Hopefully. He badly wants to ask Nico to be his boyfriend but they’ve been talking for only 3 weeks. Nico might get weirded out if he pops the question out of the blue. But Nico likes him too, that much is obvious.

“Should I ask Nico out?” He asks his friends.

“So he has a name now?” Cecil asks, still focused on his work.

“I told you his name before,”

Lou Ellen groans and cracks her neck. “No you didn’t, you showed us his text.”

“His name was up there.”

“You snatched your phone back,” Cecil says.

“Whatever. Should I ask him out? We’ve only been talking for like 3 weeks, is it too early to ask him out?”

Lou Ellen scribbles something on her notebook and goes back to her microscope. “It’s up to you, buddy.”

Will purses his lips and goes back to sorting cockroaches.

“Neeks! Over here!” Will shouts as he waves his hands. Nico looks to his left and waves back.

“Hey,” he greets and sits right away on Will’s blanket.

“Are you hungry?”

“I sure am! What’d you got?”

“I got,” he starts unpacking sandwiches from the basket one by one. “Smoked salmon egg, roast beef, turkey jalapeño, and vegetables in pita. You pick two.”

“Wow! These look amazing! What time did you get up to make these?”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” he grins. He woke up at 5.

“I want smoked salmon egg and turkey jalapeño. Or we could just share, you know. I wanna try everything. Do you have a knife?”

“Yeah. Be careful, I just sharpened it last night.” He hands Nico the knife which he accepts.

Nico carefully slices the 3 sandwiches in half. The pita is already sliced in half so he doesn’t bother with it. He wraps the knife in foil and puts it back inside the basket. Will grabs his small cooler and shows it to Nico.

“Pepsi or Coke?” he asks.

“Anything, please.” Will gives him the coke.

They talk while eating, exchanging stories of their friends and a little bit of high school just to know each other a little better. Will tells Nico the time when his high school classmates practically made the back of their classroom a mini petting zoo, complete with bunnies, exotic fishes, and mice. And the time one of them brought a dangerous firecracker at school and lit it in front of their classroom because he was bored. Nico squirts coke out of his nose from laughing too hard.

“It’s true! Mark was like, ‘Sam, look it didn’t explode! It got wet.’ then BOOM! It was so loud a few students went out of their classrooms to see what’s up. We scattered like flies right after.”

Nico, still coughing and wiping his face, lets out a few pained chuckles. Will rubs his back and gives him more paper towels. “Jesus your stories!”

“That’s not even the worst of ‘em. I have a lot of crazy stories.”

“Do you have any crazy stories that don't involve you?”

“Oh man, I have one! It was the day after prom.”

“What happened the day after prom?”

“My cousin went to school the day after prom,” Will says in between snickers.

“What? What do you mean, you don’t have classes the day after prom?”

“No. It’s not announced or anything but it’s kind of the unspoken rule.”

“That is so unfair!” Nico moans.

“I know, right? That’s usually what people say whenever I tell them this story.”

“Tell me the stupid story. I don’t wanna dwell on the ‘no classes the day after prom’ thing.”

Will laughs out loud, clutching his stomach. “Okay, okay. When my cousin found out they don’t have classes she was already at school. I was a freshman that time. She was so mad!”

“Who wouldn’t be? I was up the whole night after our prom and I had to go to school the next day. I had to drink coffee, soda, and an energy drink that day to cope. Jesus, it felt like I had a little hamster in my chest.”

“That’s fucking dangerous. Don’t do that again, okay? Anyway, so there’s this thing in my high school where if you’re already inside and you went out, you can never go back in unless it’s lunchtime.”

Nico scoffs. “Oh, the horror of not going back to high school.”

Will just grins at him and continues his story. “Her friends lived nearby so she texted them and picked them up. They couldn’t get in through the gate so they went to the back and jumped over the wall.”

“Why would they do that?! They didn’t have to be in class. Why did your sister go back? What was she thinking? What were  _ they _ thinking?!” Nico’s eyebrows are all scrunched up, like Will’s story has something to do with the world’s problems and the answer would make or break the universe. It’s cute how invested he is in this dumb story.

“Until now I don’t know the reason why, to be honest. Anyway, they jumped over the wall and a cleaning staff saw them so he told the teachers and they chased them all over the school grounds. They locked themselves in their classroom but the teachers had the key, so they jumped over a window and hid in the toilet. The chase ended there and they were apprehended during recess.”

Nico’s laughs like it's the funniest thing ever. It makes his heart swell and his ego skyrocket.

“You know what’s even funnier? One of my classmates, who has a crush on one of my cousin’s friends, told me they were caught taking a shower in the toilet! It was insane!”

Nico is now lying on the blanket, clutching his stomach from laughing too hard. There are tears in his eyes which he brushes away with his fingers.

Slowly, his laughter dies and he sits again. He lets out a few chuckles before speaking. “That was so stupid.”

“It was!”

Anyone who has eyes can see that Will is falling deeper and deeper every conversation they have, so he stopped denying or lying to himself about it about a week ago. It is better that way. He’s sleeping well, he wakes up refreshed every morning even though he only got 5 hours of sleep at best, he’s convinced his skin is more radiant, he’s drinking more water, he’s more focused, he is overall  _ better.  _ Is this what being honest to yourself feels like? Is this what real love does to you? If so, he should’ve started searching for Nico a long time ago.

  
  


Will unlocks the door of the conference room and turns on the AC. He puts his laptop on the table and turns it on, opening the word document for the agenda of their meeting.

There’s only a week left before the school festival and though everything is already set, it wouldn’t hurt to check it again, right? Better check it now than cram the night before and ruin everything they’ve prepared for the past few months.

One by one, his cabinet trickles in and soon they’re starting the meeting. Cecil and Lou Ellen come in late but it’s fine since they’re only hosting the opening and closing ceremony. Everything they have to do is still based on what Will and the others had come up in the meeting.

“This is it, folks. Only a week left. This meeting is just a review of everything, alright? To make sure we’re ready. We can’t fuck this up. This is the 50th foundation anniversary of the whole system and we have 9 days of nonstop activities holy shit we--”

Drew pops her gum and says. “Okay, calm down, Will. We’re already through this, we only have to check. Get on with it, please.”

“You’re right. Thanks.” Will takes a deep breath and exhales. “Let’s start with the opening program...”

Nothing has changed. Everything is fine, the sponsors did not back out, the speakers are working, the technical team is great, the university's big names are all coming, the prizes, trophies, sashes, medals, and whatever it is they need in sports and the dang pageant are all set. All the students and companies who signed up for food and refreshments are a-okay. The space for the said food and refreshments is good to go. The buses to the city for students who do not have cars are prepared. The entertainment for the student’s night is ready and 5 Graces is still playing.

And his speech asking Nico to be his boyfriend tomorrow? Already in his backpack.

He’s fucking ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, Will's stories are true, but it's not _my_ cousin, it was my sister. The classroom mini petting zoo and the firecracker incident all happened when I was in 8th grade. Shit was wild, guys. None of our teachers suspected we were keeping animals back there. 
> 
> I might post the last two chapters sometime this week.
> 
> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)!
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://haatorii.tumblr.com/) :)


	6. Here Is Now And Now Is Where I Wanna Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico attempts to emoji-talk. He's also manly as hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol there's no outrageous story from my youth in this chapter, but I hope you enjoy this anyway!
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's [Lovely Cup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRvbF4BzgqA)
> 
> I am obsessed with this song, you guys!

“See you tomorrow. Good luck! Okay, bye.” Nico smiles at his phone before putting it away to pick up his guitar. He plays a few chords before arranging the microphone in front of him.

“Soooo, you’re gonna see each other again tomorrow, huh? That’s your what, seventh? Ninth date?” Annabeth teases.

Piper appears a few moments later over Annabeth’s shoulders. “I heard ‘ninth date’, what’s up?” She grins at him.

“Oh my god! Get off my back!”

“What’s going on?” Leo asks, fiddling with his drumsticks.

“It’s Nico and Will’s ninth date!” Piper whispers rather loudly. Leo snickers.

“It’s not our ninth date!”

“Are we not telling Jason and Percy?”

“Obviously, no! We’ll at least let Nico get laid first before we let those two chucklefucks meet Will.”

“Oh my god, shut up you three! Nobody’s getting laid!”

“Aw, why? You’re always a joy to be around after getting laid!” Leo purses his lips. Nico wants to deck him.

“Leave me alone and go back to your places!” He pushes his friends one by one to their respective places, Leo back to his drums, Piper to her electronic keyboard, and Annabeth to her seat.

Percy and Jason come in moments later, demanding what’s going on but Leo and the girls say nothing. Annabeth clears her throat and asks them to rehearse their set again, Percy shrugs and makes a confirming sound then they’re starting. They will be playing 8 songs in total, each of them singing their solos, and the last two being more Piper-Percy centered since they are  _ technically _ the band’s main vocals. They rehearse Percy’s solo, then Jason’s, then Leo’s, Piper’s, and his. After their solos, they get to the Jason-Piper song and then the last two Piper-Percy centered songs. The moment Percy plays the last note, the group is all sweaty and Nico’s fingers feel like they’re about to fall even though he’s been doing this for over 10 years now. The adrenaline in his veins is great but the crash is something he’s not looking forward to.

His muscles feel like jelly after an hour, but he still feels pretty good. He waves goodbye to his friends and goes home. There will be no more practice until two days before they’re supposed to perform, which means he has a week to spend with Will before he goes missing to rehearse and whatever the fuck they do before showtime.

**[William Solace]**   
Hey cutie with a 🍑

**[Me]**   
peach?

**[William Solace]**   
No! Booty!

**[Me]**   
how did 🍑 become booty?

**[William Solace]**   
It looks like a butt

**[Me]**   
👁️🙅♂️👀 it

**[William Solace]**   
??????   
What is that???   
I am so confused????????

**[Me]**   
it’s me speaking your language

**[William Solace]**   
I’m sorry babe but that doesn’t make any sense   
Make it make sense!!!   
Jk it’s totally fine   
You’re an adorable little nerd 🤓

Nico flares his nose and takes a deep breath at the endearment. Jesus Christ should he address it? Will has called him several nicknames during their calls and texts in the past, but it’s only the silly ones like ‘angel face’, ‘death boy’, ‘dark lord’, and other things just as ridiculous. This is the first time he called him babe, and it is doing  _ things _ for him. He decides to play it cool.

**[Me]**   
shut up nerd 🤓

Oh man, that’s not cool at all. That’s just lame. 

**[William Solace]**   
Are you excited for the festival next week?

Festival? Oh shit, right that was next week already. Damn, that’s 9 days of fun for Hazel. 

**[Me]**   
yeah sure

**[William Solace]**   
Are you joining anything or just playing it cool this year?

**[Me]**   
no. nothing.   
just gonna sign attendance for 9 days

**[William Solace]**   
Cool. Wanna hang out?

Oh fuck. Quick! Think of an excuse!

**[Me]**   
sure but i’d only attend for like 2 days or sumth

**[William Solace]**   
Why?

**[Me]**   
my presence is needed elsewhere

**[William Solace]**   
Ooh, cryptic. I like it

**[Me]**   
plus my sister and her boyfriend are just gonna hang   
out all the time   
i dont wanna be the third wheel

**[William Solace]**   
Then don’t!   
I’ll come with you if you like 😜

Nico feels his face get warm. He smiles.

**[Me]**   
what’s that supposed to mean?   
isnt it too early for you to meet my family?

**[William Solace]**   
Eh just shooting my shot 😏   
And speaking of sister   
What’s her name?   
What’s her major? I might know her

He doubts he knows Hazel. She’s a low key kind of student and as far as he knows she’s not into any clubs or sororities. 

**[Me]**   
her name is hazel   
levesque   
all of her classes are in LA   
so i doubt you know her   
you practically like live in the NS building

**[William Solace]**   
Oh I know her!   
Tiny, cute as a button, beautiful hair, friendly as hell

**[Me]**   
🙄   
i know youre just describing me if i were a girl

**[William Solace]**   
No, but I’m glad you think you’re cute as a button   
And you do have beautiful hair

**[Me]**   
OH MY GOD!!! SHUT UP!! I AM NOT CUTE AS   
A MOTHERFUCKING BUTTON!!!!   
I AM MANLY AS HELL   
I HAVE MANLY HOBBIES 😠   
I EAT MANLY FOOD 😠   
I USE THE SHOWER MANLY 😠

**[William Solace]**   
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣   
You’re so cute!! 🤣   
I mean, MANLY   
You’re so manly! I am swooning   
But no, I really know her   
She has a tall ass engineering boyfriend right?   
<attachment:image0263.jpeg>   
I helped her when she almost failed natural biology   
when she was a first year.

Oh wow. It’s a picture of Will and Hazel. Why didn’t Hazel tell him about Will last year? And the fact that she almost failed natural biology?!

**[Me]**   
haha small world lol 🤪🤪

Will doesn’t reply for a few minutes so he tries to focus on the movie he’s ‘watching’. 

**[William Solace]**   
Oh no   
I have to go   
I’m sorry

**[Me]**   
it’s fine

**[William Solace]**   
Noooooo!!!   
I wanna talk but I gotta go help my brother   
See you tomorrow at the park? 

**[Me]**   
sure! goodnight 🤪

**[William Solace]**   
Goodnight 🥰🥰🥰😘😘😘

Nico slowly lowers himself down on the tub, careful not to get his hair wet. He leans his head back and listens to his playlist, his mind drifting to what might happen tomorrow. He takes a deep breath and wills his muscles to relax. With fatigue seeping out of his body, he thinks of what would happen if he kisses Will. Would Will kiss him back? What would happen if Will kisses him? He’d been wanting to kiss Will ever since that carnival date. He’d been wanting to kiss him for so long he couldn’t count how many times he ended a date with his fists to his side, preventing himself from pulling the blond down and kiss him silly. 

Nico thrashes around his cooling water, head filled with thoughts about kissing Will. And when he’s had enough, he drains the tub and pats himself dry. He applies a generous amount of lotion and he’s on his way to bed.

“Hey,” he greets Will as he approaches. He’s wearing a yellow-green button down over an orange t-shirt and jeans. He looks as if he’s brought springtime with him. 

“Hi, how you’ve been?” Will winks at him. 

“We literally just saw each other the other day,” Nico says amusedly.

“Yeah, but I wanna know what you did!” He taps the space beside him. Nico crouches down to blow away the dust and dead leaves.

“Hm, we went to Annie’s studio, we made plans on what to do during the festival, and I watched a movie at home.” Nico indulges him. It’s not a lie, per se, they did go to Annabeth’s  _ dad’s _ studio to rehearse, they made plans about what to do before  _ and  _ after they play, and he was ‘watching’ a movie while they texted each other.

“Cool. I helped my brother  _ again _ with his project because it’s almost the exam period for them and I freaked out over the programs next week.”

Nico giggles. “Why? Are you like the host or something? Having cold feet, sunshine?”

Hah! Got him with his stupid endearments. Will gets a little red in the face, it’s adorable. He narrows his eyes at him but still smiles.

“No, silly. Where were you last election? I’m the student body president.”

Nico feels his blood drain from his face and into his feet. His eyes widened. “What? Ha ha,” he laughs nervously. “You’re the student body president?”

“Yeah, I thought you knew?”

“No! I thought you were just a… regular senior?”

Shit, this is bad. He really thought Will was an ordinary student! An ordinary student who doesn’t seem to know who he is. This changes a lot of things! Well, not really, but Nico has issues and his issues won’t let him sleep if any of the things he’s been thinking about for the past week happens.

“I am a senior but I kind of finished my thesis already so I’m ready to graduate whenever I want. No, just kidding, I  _ can _ graduate this October since I still have to finish my last 3 classes. The one I told you about?” Nico nods. “Right.”

Will shifts in his seat and speaks again, “Wait, Nico, listen. Could you please come closer? Okay, that’s it. Listen, I have something to tell you.”

Oh shit. Wait, fuck, no! Wait, time out!

“You know how we’ve been hanging out for like a month now? I uh, I truly enjoyed every single minute I spend with you. I like you, and I hope I’m not just saying this but…You like me too, right?”

Will can’t look at him straight, he keeps darting his eyes around like he’s scared Nico might lunge at him and claw his eyes out if he looks at Nico’s eyes long enough. 

Nico purses his lips. No, not like this. Please, not like this. He hasn’t been honest with Will. Pretty sure he thinks his last name is Levesque but that’s not the issue. The issue here is he’s been hiding things from Will because it was easier. 

“You don’t have to answer that. My real question is, do you wa--”

“Wait, Will. Stop.” He blurts out. Will stops, his mouth slightly open as if his voice got snatched out of his throat. There is fear in his eyes and Nico desperately wants to tell him it’s okay, that he wants to be with him too. He bites the inside of his cheek “I know what your question is and believe me, I want to say yes. I am  _ fucking dying _ to say yes,”

Will’s face eases, relieved. “Phew,” He fans himself. “I really thought you were gonna turn me down! That I misunderstood what’s going on between us.” He chuckles to himself and holds Nico’s hand. “I can do this, right?” Nico nods. He turns his hand over to lace their hands together. His hand is soft and warm.

“But I can’t.” Nico continues. “Not yet, at least. I haven’t been entirely honest with you. Can you wait after the festival? You can ask me again after the festival… please?”

“Yes.” Will answers. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going to change my mind if you don’t answer me today. I like you and that’s not gonna go away any time soon.”

Nico’s face heats up and he lets out a nervous laugh.

“Just to be clear, you’re not married, right? Like, you’re not in the middle of a divorce and the final proceedings will happen, coincidentally, on the last day of the festival?”

“No, no,” He laughs. “No secret spouse and I’m still single as far as the law dictates. I’m just asking you to wait twelve more days.” Nico smiles at him, silently pleading.

“Yeah, I can do that. I can wait for twelve more days. Honestly, I was asking myself the whole time if it’s too early to ask you out. At least after twelve days, I could confidently say to myself I’ve waited an acceptable amount of time.” Will laughs and Nico feels his chest ease up. “Do you still want to hang out or is this too weird for you?”

“Oh no, I want to hang out. Tell me about the programs!” He scoots closer to Will and in response Will angles himself towards Nico, still holding his hand.

He can’t wait to say yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)!
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://haatorii.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Tell me what you think!


	7. Holding My Breath ‘Til There’s Nothing Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the 50th foundation anniversary of NRU!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know I said "sometime this week" but I did not anticipate the number of words I had to add in the middle of what I already wrote. Please receive this 7th chapter as a compensation lol
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's [Let Me In](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvqyxgZMDXI).

“Nico didn’t turn me down. Nico wants to say yes, he’s going to say yes, I just have to wait for twelve days. I can do this. I can wait for twelve days. Twelve days is less than two weeks, not even half a month. If I do groceries now, my food won’t even run out before Nico and I have to talk again.” Will mutters to himself as he walks back to their house. It’s already 7:25 PM, not even late, but his mom is cooking his favorite tonight so he’s eager to come home.

He unlocks their front door and the smell of chicken in the oven wafts to his nose. “I’m home! It smells good in here!” He calls out, immediately going to the kitchen to kiss his mom’s cheek.

“Oh good, you’re here. I’m starting to worry you got stuck at school. Change your clothes, the food is gonna be ready soon.” His mom says. “Call your dad on your way down, please. He’s been cooped up in there for hours now.” He nods and pinches his brother’s cheek on his way out.

Will changes into an old shirt that has thinned from frequent washing and his threadbare basketball shorts from high school. He knocks on his dad’s office, “Dad, food’s ready.”

His dad, carefully painting a small soldier figurine, nods slowly and says, “‘Kay, I’ll be down in a sec,” in a monotonous tone. He raps his knuckles two more times on the door, out of habit, and goes down.

“How’s school, Will?” His mom asks.

“It’s fine. The festival is in a few days so there’s that.”

“Are you ready?” His dad asks as he munches on some green beans.

“Yeah. We’ve double, triple, quadruple checked everything. I think Charles and the others are already pissed at me.” Will laughs.

His mother hums and they eat in silence for a while that only gets interrupted by occasional scraping noises.

His brother, Michael, jolts in his seat which makes everyone look at him. “Oh, Will! I heard 5 Graces is going to be at your school next week. Can I come to see ‘em? Please please please please!”

“5 Graces? What 5 Graces?”

Michael’s face lights up like he’s given a megaphone in a rally “They’re this awesome band from Will’s school! They got signed by a major label two years ago and they’ve been touring like crazy! They even played at Coachella last year! They’re not a headliner but still! They’re like, local celebrities dad, keep up!”

Their dad scoffs but doesn’t say anything else.

“Where did you even get that news?”

“Silena,” he replies like it answers everything.

“I don’t know any Silena,”

“She’s Drew’s sister,” that explains it. “Can I go? Please! I won’t be a bother, I promise!”

He clicks his tongue. “I don’t know if I can bring you, buddy. It’s student’s night--”

“I’m a student!”

“--there are A LOT of people and at least half of them are going to be drinking.”

“I’m not going to drink! I won’t be on your way, I promise! Mom, Dad, can I go? Please please please!” Michael pounds his cutlery on the table.

“I’m not even going there to attend the concert, I’m mostly gonna be working so even if I want to, I can’t bring you.”

“Yeah, Mike. If you get lost your brother’s not gonna know where to even find you.”

“Mom! They’re ganging up on me! Can I go, please? I’m gonna do the dishes for a week I promise!”

“I’m out of this conversation, Michael. If it were up to me, I won’t even let your brother attend the student’s night--”

“Mom!” Will whines.

“--but it’s not, so I don’t have any say in it. And your brother is an adult. You can’t even drive yet.”

“No fair!” Michael tosses his cutlery to his plate. He pouts, his cheeks bulging like a chipmunk’s, and folds his arms. It’s kind of adorable but also annoying.

“Hey, that’s not nice,” Their mom warns. “You’re not even in sixth grade yet. You’re ten.”

“Yeah, buddy. You’re too young to go with me. How about this, I make sure to record the set for you and film them giving you a shoutout. Then you can post it to all of your social media accounts. Is that okay?”

Michael is still pouting but he’s obviously thinking about it. “I want an autograph too.”

“Deal.”

  
  


“...And it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 50th foundation anniversary celebration of the University of New Rome!”

The open field is a cacophony of claps and cheers and screams as the other students release the confetti. 

Will, on the stage because of his status as the student council president and the organizer of the whole event, drifts his eyes to the spot where the history department is occupying, straining to look for a small-ish pale black-haired boy without being too obvious. Nico didn’t say he’ll be attending the opening ceremony but it won’t hurt to look, right? He gives up after a few minutes of ‘subtle’ squinting. Maybe he’s not here, it’s Sunday after all.

“Let’s give a round of applause to the people responsible for the massive success of this opening ceremony, our student officials! Come on guys, don’t leave me hangin’. There you go,”

Will smiles at the crowd and waves his hand a little. He gives a small speech about leadership, teamwork, camaraderie, and fucks off the stage right after.

There’s nothing much to see during the opening ceremony. Most of the food stalls start tomorrow so food choices are pretty slim. The only thing worth staying for is the cheerleading competition but he doesn’t want to watch girls being thrown up in the air (it frightens him every time), so he goes to find Hazel to talk to her about his brother. Will doesn’t see her with the English department folks so he tries the other groups. Still no Hazel. Then he remembers her boyfriend is an electrical engineering student so he cranes his neck to see if there’s a group of men in the crowd all wearing an obnoxious shade of green. He sees people wearing the obnoxious shade of green going back to the H-building so he follows them.

Will seldom strays on this part of the campus simply because he did not have any class in this part of the campus. All his math classes were held in the math building so there was never really a chance to wander in the H-building. Also, H-building is creepy as fuck: it’s dark, quiet, and the air is surprisingly cold for a building with the highest population on campus (they share it with the Education department). It is the total opposite of the Natural Sciences building that is open and under the sun. But he needs to find Hazel so he soldiers on.

He enters the building. The first floor is empty but he hears shouts and laughter upstairs so maybe it’s not that scary. He walks faster, almost running, when a strong gust of wind disturbs the quiet and makes the trees outside sway, the shaking leaves giving him the impression of unseen entities whispering around him. Will heaves a sigh when he is finally out in the sunlight.

The Education department’s part of the building is a bit more cheerful, in his opinion. It’s bright and colorful and most of the time loud. He hears people gossiping by the stairs, students watching movies from their laptops, eating, and even sleeping.

Will sees Hazel in one of the huts behind the Education department with his boyfriend. He calls her name but she doesn’t turn so he walks closer to get her attention.

“Haze-- oh shit, I’m sorry!” He backs away immediately, seeking refuge in the nearby hut.

“Ah!” Hazel yelps and his boyfriend scrambles to move away from her. They were making out. “Will! What are you doing here?” She subtly wipes her lips with her fingertips.

“Sorry,” he winces and raises a hand, “Hey, man!” He greets her boyfriend. He blushes and squeaks out a ‘hi’. It’s cute. They’re both cute. “Haze, is it okay if I talk to you for a sec? It’ll be quick, I promise.”

Hazel whispers something to her boyfriend, to which he smiles and then she’s standing up to go to Will. “What’s up?” She asks after sitting down. Hazel gives him a cute smile.

“Yeah, hi. Um,” he wets his lips, unsure of what he even wants to say to her. Does he ask for permission to date her brother? Should he buy her food  _ and then  _ ask for permission to date her brother? What is the protocol for this?

Another gust of wind but it’s more refreshing than creepy. He covers his face, at the same time Hazel does too, when the dust flies around them and then settles after a few seconds. He brushes the dust off his shirt before speaking. “Is it okay if I date your brother?”

Hazel now looks at him like he’s a toddler giving her a slobbery toy, still smiling but a little confused. “What?”

Will’s chest is pounding. His hands are starting to sweat. Jesus, this must be worse than his thesis defense. He licks his lips again. “Is it okay if I--”

“Oh no, I heard you. That was a surprised ‘what’.” Hazel rubs her chin with her thumb like a detective from the reruns of his mom’s favorite show as a child. He almost laughs but manages to stop before making an ass of himself in front of the sister of the guy he’s wooing.

“Nico,” She whispers to herself then repeats it in a louder voice. “Nico… right? You mean Nico? This height, black hair, pale?”

Will nods. He doesn’t add anything else. 

She turns and gestures for his boyfriend to come. Soon, he’s sitting beside Hazel, extending his hands to his.

“Hello, I’m Frank. Nice to meet you!” He smiles at him widely. He takes it.

“Hi, Frank. I’m Will. Nice to meet you too.” Frank lets go first.

Frank ducks his head a little bit and whispers ‘what’s going on?’ to Hazel and she answers in a hushed voice that he doesn’t catch. Frank looks surprised.

“How did you and Nico meet?” Frank asks.

“I saw him in front of the gym. Last month. He was coughing so bad I had to give him some water. Then I walked him to the cafeteria and we talked. He gave me his number before he went home.” He answers. He clears his throat and looks at the couple in front of them. They’re not talking but he can see they’re communicating. It’s that thing long term couples do, they give each other a look and that’s already a whole sentence with an appropriate response. A slight head tilt and it’s another question. His parents do that too.

Shit, why is he nervous? It is the truth!

Hazel purses her lips and her face goes through different facial expressions like she cannot fathom why his brother would date Will or vice versa. “You know Nico doesn’t go here, right?”

“What?” Will croaks out.

“I mean, he used to but he has a different job now, you know?” She says, emphasizing the ‘different job’.

“What do you mean he doesn’t go here? What 'different job'?”

Frank’s eyes widened, as if realizing something, and elbows Hazel a little bit hard. She squeaks a quiet ‘ow’ and rubs her side. Frank gives her another look and jerks his head towards Will. Hazel gasps and turns to Will again.

She bites her lip. “I may have said too much, but yeah you can date my brother. Just ignore everything I’ve said earlier, okay? Bye, see you around!” Then she rises to her feet and walks to the building pulling Frank behind her. 

Huh.

**[Me]**   
Hey angel cakes! I may have done something   
weird earlier. 👉👈

**[Nico]**   
i know, hazel told me

**[Me]**   
Sorry 😔😔   
Are you mad? 😔

**[Nico]**   
no, not rly.   
we talked after so no, im not mad

**[Me]**   
Is it okay if I asked about it? 👉👈

**[Nico]**   
🙃   
dude   
😩

**[Me]**   
12 days?

**[Nico]**   
11 now but yeah 😩   
sorry

**[Me]**   
Don’t be 😉   
I told you I can wait, didn’t I?   
If it answers my question at the end of all of this   
Then I can wait 😊

**[Nico]**   
i swear it’ll answer your question!

**[Me]**   
Then that’s good enough for me 👍👍

**[Nico]**   
youre rly nice, u know that? 

**[Me]**   
No, I actually don’t! Tell me more! 😍😍   
I wanna hear the uncensored version    
of what you think of me! 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍

**[Nico]**   
youre an idiot 😁   
im rly happy i met u

**[Me]**   
Aw shucks! You’re making me blush! 🥰🥰🥰   
Careful, any more of that and I’m gonna think you like me ❤️❤️

**[Nico]**   
of course i like u 👉👈   
did i do it right?   
😁😁

Will is howling with laughter. Jesus Christ, this man is so adorable! Where had Nico been all his life? Probably with other people, but it doesn’t matter now. In 11 days Nico will finally be his boyfriend.

But despite the promise of being together, the voice at the back of Will’s mind saying  _ ‘red flag, red flag, red flag’ _ over and over is getting louder. More so after what happened this afternoon. He’s been nothing but honest with him, and then he finds out he’s been keeping more secrets? Will shakes his head, willing the thoughts to go away. It doesn’t matter. They aren’t together yet, he doesn’t have the right to demand the truth from Nico when he already said to wait. He has to trust him. He is wooing Nico, after all. If he couldn’t wait for 11 days and respect Nico’s wishes then he might as well stop everything now and leave him alone. But Will is nothing but stubborn and persistent. His gut tells him it’s all gonna be okay. And as much as he wants to follow his mind, his heart is more drawn to his gut. It is much closer than his brain after all.

**[Me]**   
Yeah you did it right 😊

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 50th foundation anniversary of our university was way back in 2013. We had 9 days of fun and games (technically 8 days because the 9th day was reserved for cleaning the whole campus lol)
> 
> Chapter 15 of Waiting To Set It Right will probably be posted the same day as chapter 8 :)))
> 
> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)! 
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://haatorii.tumblr.com/)!


	8. The Night Is Young, The Rest Is Up To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The few days leading up to Student's Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is longer than I expected actually. I thought this chapter would only be around 5k, but I kept adding and adding and the next thing I knew, it's 9 freaking thousand words!!! Though it ended like what I wanted to, I feel like there's something lacking. Maybe I rushed it? I don't know. All I know is that I feel like I used up all my English in this chapter 🤪🤪
> 
> Anyway, here's the final chapter. I hope you like it! I proofread and edited it as much as I can.
> 
> There is no content warning in this chapter as far as I know, but if you think I missed anything, please don't hesitate to message me.
> 
> Chapter title is from Grouplove's [Good Morning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bC3uMnEclc)

**Tuesday** **  
  
**

**[Me]**   
where are u?

**[William Solace]**   
Still here at LA but I’m on my way   
Where are you?

**[Me]**   
in front of the gym

**[William Solace]**   
Be there in 5 minutes

**[Me]**   
okay

Nico pockets his phone and picks up the bag of milk tea he bought earlier for the two of them from the ground. It’s unsanitary, he knows, but the drinks are still sealed and they’re inside a bag so it’s fine. A few minutes later, he sees a familiar mop of blond hair under the sun walking towards the gym. Will stops under a tree and looks around. He sees Nico and smiles.

“Hey,” Will greets and pulls him in for a hug which he eagerly returns.

“Hi. I bought you tea,” Nico pulls the winter melon drink out of the bag and hands it to him.

“Oh sweet! Thanks,” Nico shrugs. “What do you wanna do today?”

“I dunno. What are the activities today?”

“Sports, as usual. Tomorrow’s the literary competition and then the pageant after that.”

“Ooh, Lit-com day. I like lit-com day,”

“Everybody likes lit-com day.”

“True,” Nico sighs as he punches a hole through his drink with a straw. He takes a sip.

“Oh, oh! I don’t know if you’ve heard because I don’t think the department heads announced it but we added another program for lit-com day. You’re gonna love it!” Will says excitedly. He bounces on his feet like a golden retriever about to play ball or something. Nico finds himself getting excited too.

“What is it?”

“A cosplay competition! Well, not  _ just  _ cosplay, they’re gonna do a 7-minute skit too!”

“Wow! Oh my god, that’s genius! I’m surely gonna be here tomorrow!”

“Yeah? You think it’s gonna be fun?”

“Of course! I seriously can’t wait for tomorrow! Are you gonna host it?”

“Nah, all the evening events on lit-com day will be hosted by Cecil and Lou Ellen. Speaking of which, I want you to meet them, my friends. Unless you want to watch a match or something? Track and field and baseball are starting soon.”

Oh. They’re at the ‘meeting the friends’ stage already? Wow. Should he be nervous? He’s not nervous. But he should be nervous, right? Like, Will wants him to meet his friends! If Will’s friends are like his, then they’re practically his family! Holy shit, he’s going to meet his chosen family!

“Should… I make myself more likable? I am told I’m an  _ acquired taste. _ ”

Will laughs heartily he almost drops his tea, “What does that even mean? If you think my friends won’t like you because ‘you’re weird’ or whatever,” Will uses air quotes, “don’t worry because Lou Ellen and Cecil are ‘weird’ in their way too. They’ll like you, trust me. I like you.”

Nico can almost feel his blood rushing to his face. He scowls at him to hide his embarrassment. “Okay. I trust you.” He says. “And I like you too.” He blurts out then starts walking. 

He hears Will chuckle behind him. “Wait up!” he says and jogs to catch up with him.

“Where are you again? Gamma Este or Gamma Oeste? Uh-huh. Okay, bye.” Will ends the call and puts his phone back in his pocket.

“Where are they?” Nico asks, his voice a little shaky.

“Este, I think? They’re in a shed is all I know. You know, I’m still confused about the este and oeste. I know este is east and oeste is west, but how do you know this building is este,” he points to the building closest to them, “and that one is oeste? If I’m facing this way, yeah sure, that’s este and the other one’s the oeste, but what if the engineer who the blueprints were facing the other way? What should--”

Nico lets Will ramble about the buildings while they walk. It’s fun to listen to him get worked up with something as simple as this because it’s obvious that his sense of direction is shit. 

They’re close. Nico can already see two people sitting in a shed closest to them. His hands feel clammy but aside from that, he’s okay.

“There they are. Guys!” Will screams, getting the attention of everyone within a 10-meter radius. Nico lowers his baseball cap.

“Hey!” “Who’s that?!”

Will places a hand on his lower back, keeping him close, as they get closer to his friends. Nico bites his lip to keep himself from grinning too much because holy shit that’s a big fuckin’ hand on his lower back! He’d whine and ask for more if they’re fucking alone! God, what the fuck is he thinking? He’s not a slu-- well, he thinks he’s not a slut but who knows at this fucking point.

“Oh my god Cecil, is that--”

“Holy shit! It is!”

Nico snaps his head up to look at Will’s friends. Oh god oh god oh god they recognize him! They recognize him!

The girl, Lou Ellen, grips the sleeve of the boy, Cecil, tight. Both of them slack-jawed and wide-eyed like they’d seen a ghost. 

“Lou Ellen, Cecil, this is Nico, the guy I’ve been telling you about. Nico, these are my friends.” Will says cheerfully. God bless his pure and unsuspecting heart.

Nico steps back, making Will his shield just in case something goes wrong and he has to run. But he’d prefer if the earth opens underneath him and swallows him whole.

Nico stares at them and them at him, all unmoving, all silent. A gust of fresh air comes which cools his body but not enough. He feels sweat run down his back.

Finally, Lou Ellen breaks the silence. “Dude,” She starts, extending her hand like she’s presenting something, “this is--”

Nico instantly breaks his eye contact from Cecil and shakes his head as subtly as he could, which ends up looking like he’s shivering.  _ No, please don’t tell him. Not yet. I have a plan, please don’t ruin this for me please please please! _

“--uh,” She looks at Cecil, who’s also looking at her in panic, then at Nico, “He’s uh… he’s Nico! Hi!” Lou Ellen comes closer, her brown hair bouncing as she moves, offering her extended arm at him for a shake. Her smile, though laced with a hint of wary, is genuine. Nico accepts it with much enthusiasm.

“Hello, I’m Nico… but you already know that.” Nico chuckles nervously. He turns to Cecil who still looks like he just witnessed a murder. “Hi, Cecil.”

Lou Ellen elbows him hard in the ribs. “Ow! Ohhiimcecilohmygod! I’m shaking your hand!”

Nico grins wide, eyes pleading to  _ please don’t be obvious! I am begging on my knees!  _ “Yes, you are! And I’m shaking yours!” They continue to shake until Will clears his throat.

“You really like shaking hands with my Nico here, huh, Cecil? Lemme remind you you’re straight.”

Nico bites the inside of his cheek.  _ My  _ Nico. Jesus.

Cecil lets go of his hand. 

“Can we talk to Nico here for a sec, Will?” Lou Ellen says and pulls him and Cecil away.

“Man, what the fuck! Oh my god! You’re Nico di Angelo! Holy shit!” Cecil almost screams when they’re out of earshot. He has his hands on his hair, clutching them, almost pulling, hard.

“How? Why? When did you meet? Oh no, don’t answer that, he told us how literally the day after. But How?! And how come he did not know you’re you?! He’s literally a fan!”

Nico does  _ not _ know how to behave in this situation, but he’s thankful they didn’t blow his cover so that’s what exactly he does. “Thank you guys so much for not blowing my cover! Jesus, I forgot you might know me.”

“No, it’s fine, man. No biggie. We’re just surprised is all. We’re cool, right, Cecil?”

“What? Oh yeah, we’re totally cool. Good lord. You’re still playing for the Student’s Night on Sunday, right?”

“Yeah, and I’m planning to tell him that I don’t go here on Sunday after the show.”

Cecil and Lou Ellen look at each other again like they’re having a full conversation with their minds.

“Yeah, okay buddy. We support you and Will.” She says, clapping his shoulders. Nico gives her a smile of gratitude.

“Thanks,” he says. “It really means the world to me that you’re fine with me dating your friend.”

“You’re dating already?!”

“Er… no, not yet. But I’m hoping we will be after the show.” He rubs the back of his neck nervously.

“Cool. Cool cool cool.”

“Hey! What’s going on over there?! Stop harassing him! We’re still hafta watch the baseball game!” Will screams from a distance, interrupting them.

“We should go back before he comes and ruins everything.” Lou Ellen says to them.

“Yeah, let’s do that. Guys, I’m really thankful for you keeping this from him.”

“No problem. Although, I do have one request,” Cecil says. 

“What is it?”

“Can I take a picture with you?” 

Nico lets out a snicker because he did not expect that at all! “Sure, man. Come here,”

Cecil whispers a ‘yes!’ and gives Lou Ellen his phone. She takes a couple then gets her turn. He also takes a selfie with the two of them.

“If you want to post it, please hide it from Will?”

“Sure, man. Or we’ll just post this on Sunday, it’s no big deal!”

“Thanks!”

**###**

**Wednesday**   
  


“What’s wrong?” Will asks.

“I wanna get better seats but it’s too hot to go in,” Nico folds his arms and scowls at the open doors of the university gym.

“Then we’ll come in later, it’s no big deal,”

“But we’ll never get good seats!”

“I am the student president, remember? I can get us in, don’t worry. Do you wanna grab something to eat?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you can do that.”

Will grins and they walk to the food stalls. Nico buys takoyaki and Will gets cheesy fries. Nico eats most of it.

They got inside the gym at 8:30 PM and stayed near the stage until the program ended. Sure enough, Nico  _ loved  _ the cosplay competition. He was laughing so hard his face turned red and tears of glee were streaming down his face. Will was enamoured of him the whole time.

At the end of the night, after most of the students have gone home, Will walks Nico back to his bike.

“The cosplay-skit competition was brilliant, Will. It was such a fucking hit!”

“Yeah, even I was surprised! I really thought people would get bored. Guess I underestimated the students’ desire to goof around onstage. The engineering department was a fucking riot, man! Too bad their costumes were shitty.”

“Hey I was rooting for the education department all the way! They deserve the win!” Nico chuckles. “But yeah, the engineering department was funny.”

“See?”

“Yeah, yeah. But man, that Bulbasaur was just the best! Dora with a fucking pokemon?! Maleficent doing splits?! When did they have the time to think of that?!” Nico and Will crack up again.

Their laughter dies down as they approach the parking spot.

“I had fun today--again.” Nico rolls his eyes. “I always have fun when I’m with you. I don’t think that’s ever gonna change.”

“You can’t fool me. I know you’re just hanging out with me so you can get the VIP treatment,” Will teases.

Nico fakes a gasp. “My god! Such slander! How dare you accuse me of being an opportunist!”

Will smiles down at him fondly while Nico looks up at him, grinning like a maniac. Suddenly, he wraps his arms around Will’s neck and pulls him down, planting a soft kiss on the side of his mouth. “G’night.” He says.

Will, crouching awkwardly, circles his arms around his waist. He kisses the tip of Nico’s nose. “Good night.”

Nico noses the underside of his jaw and plants a quick kiss on his cheek before letting him go.

“Are you sure you still want to wait until Sunday? You can tell me now, we’re alone.” Will pulls him in closer.

Nico rests his forehead on his chest. After a while, Nico raises his head to him. “Sorry, I can’t. It’s just easier to do it on Sunday.”

Will hums and kisses his hair. “Okay, I understand.” Then he lets him go. Nico smiles at him one last time then he’s putting on his helmet and drives away. Will sighs as he watches Nico’s tail lights disappear into the trees. 

The night breeze is cold but refreshing. There are no stars tonight, and it might rain tomorrow based on the state of the clouds, but whatever the weather is tomorrow, Will is sure it won’t deter him from having a good time.

He touches the corner of his lips, feeling the ghost of Nico’s kiss, and goes back inside the gym to help arrange the chairs for tomorrow’s pageant.

*******  
  


**Thursday** **  
  
**

**[Me]**   
Are you gonna watch the pageant later?

**[Nico]**   
hmm 🤔 idk   
i dont rly like watching beauty pageants   
the only time i watched a pageant was when   
pipes was forced to participate back in hs   
i wasnt even there to support, it just happened

**[Me]**   
Why not? 🤔

**[Nico]**   
we won a dance competition so we were obligated   
to perform during the intermission

**[Me]**   
👀👀👀👀👀   
What kind of dance?!   
Was it sexy? 🥵🥵

**[Nico]**   
🙄🙄   
no u idiot   
it’s like a folk dance mixed with modern steps   
or something   
but we wore tights & leotards so i guess 🤷♂️🤷♂️   
i was a bird   
i had wings made with ✨✨ & cardboard

**[Me]**   
Uuuuuuuuuuugh 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵   
Hot 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵   
I have to watch that!! 🥵🥵   
Please tell me someone filmed it!!!   
I wanna see 17 y.o. Nico dance onstage   
wearing leotards!!! 🥵🥵🥵🥵

**[Nico]**   
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄   
stop being gross   
…   
i can wear it sometime if u like

**[Me]**   
🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵   
👅🍆💦💦   
Oh man!! 🥵🥵🥵🥵   
Please don’t tease me so much   
I’m trying to be a gentleman here

**[Nico]**   
who said i wanted u to be a gentleman? 😉🤪

**[Me]**   
Fuck!   
Oh my god!   
But no 🙅🙅🙅🙅🙅🙅🙅   
I wasn’t raised in a barn   
I am a gentleman   
Just ask any of my exes

**[Nico]**   
rly? gimme a number

**[Me]**   
Are you serious? 🤨

**[Nico]**   
yea sure   
send em

**[Me]**   
Jk I was just messing with you   
I am a gentleman but you don’t have to   
talk to them   
They’re my exes for a reason

**[Nico]**   
alright then

**[Me]**   
What are you up to?

**[Nico]**   
im doing groceries   
i might swing by later since i wont be    
coming until Sunday   
wbu?

**[Me]**   
Making sure everything’s up and running before   
the program starts

**[Nico]**   
well??

**[Me]**   
????

**[Nico]**   
is everything up & running?

**[Me]**   
Ah yeah

**[Nico]**   
cool

**[Me]**   
Oh they’re calling me   
See you later? 🥺🥺

**[Nico]**   
yeah yeah see u later   
now go do president stuff   
imma check out my food

**[Me]**   
🥰🥰😘😘

*******

**Saturday** **  
  
**

It’s Saturday and Will is anxious and bored. He wants to be productive because frankly there are still plenty of things to do, but his mind is preventing him from doing so because tomorrow, at around 10 PM, he and Nico are going to talk.

Will likes to think he’s a pretty straightforward guy, if he likes someone, he tells them. If they tell him they’re not interested, he leaves them alone. Simple as that. No fuss, no muss. But what he has with Nico is different. It’s obvious that they like each other very much and he thinks it’s safe to assume that Nico wants to be with him. However, all this secrecy is making him anxious for some reason.

He shoots Nico a text.

**[Me]**   
Hey

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Thirty minutes. Nothing.

He ruffles his hair in frustration.

“Come on, Solace. Cheer up, let’s get something to eat. You want donuts? My treat.” Lou Ellen says rapidly.

“Yeah, I guess.” They walk to the food court. It’s crowded. Lou Ellen finds the donuts and buys for the three of them.

“You ready to have fun tomorrow night?”

“Yeah sure,” he answers automatically, not even understanding what Cecil said.

“Aw man! I need more than that! You like this band, right?”

“I guess. But honestly, I’m just staying for what’s going to happen after. Nico wants to talk after the student’s night.”

“Oh worm? Cool. Cool cool cool. What do you want me to say tomorrow? Do you have any special requests? I’m gonna do shoutouts and whatnot during the program!”

“It’s alright, Ces. I’m gonna stay by the stage anyway. If I want you to announce something I could just pass you a note.”

Cecil purses his lips. “Smart.”

“Here you go, boys. Let’s sit somewhere, please! My feet are killing me.” Lou Ellen complains. They walk out of the food court and into the park. 

It’s a fair afternoon: the taste of salt in the air, the sun bright but not too hot, the cheers and scream-laughs of students inside the gym watching the futsal match between the agriculture and engineering students. The three of them sit under the old mahogany tree, watching out for red ants and stinging caterpillars, and eat their donuts. 

“How are you and Nico?” Lou Ellen asks after she’s finished her first donut.

Will takes a huge bite out of his. He chews and swallows before speaking. “We’re great, but he’s out today. He’s coming tomorrow, though. Said he wants to watch the band, and then we’ll talk after.”

Cecil eyes him curiously, flies starting to surround his snack. He swats away a couple of them. “Talk about what?”

“Last week I wanted to ask him, here actually, over there,” Will points at the concrete bench a few meters from where they’re sitting. “if he wants to be my boyfriend but he stopped me, told me to wait twelve days, after the student’s night, then ask him again.”

“And today’s Saturday! One more day and you can ask him again, right?” Lou Ellen says.

Will heaves a sigh. He shrugs. “Yeah, I guess.” He crumples the napkin he used to wipe frosting off his face and pockets it only to fish it out a few moments later and tear it into tiny pieces.

“What’s wrong? Are you having second thoughts?”

“No...” he trails off. “Yes? I don’t know. I like him so much, Ces. But he’s been hiding stuff. Like the other day, you remember Hazel?” Cecil and Lou Ellen squint their eyes, probably browsing their memories for a ‘Hazel’. “She was the one assigned to me when Professor Romero told us to help freshies in danger of failing her class.” His friends respond with ‘ _ ah _ ’s’ and ‘ _ yes’s _ ’ “Turns out, she’s Nico’s sister! It’s not a secret, he told me about her, but she said something about a ‘different job’ and him not going here? I don’t know what to believe anymore. I like him so much but what if something’s going on? I know he’s hiding stuff, he kind of told me so, but he told me to trust him and I do! God, I do trust him! But what if something’s going on?”

“What  _ is _ going on?”

“I don’t know! Guess I’ll know about it tomorrow after the show.”

“What about this,” Lou Ellen starts, chewing the last bite of her food, “you have fun with him, right?”

Will nods so she continues. “Then just keep having fun with him! After the student’s night, if whatever you talk about doesn’t sit right with you, then tell him you need a little more time or ask him if you could stay friends for a while.”

“Wouldn’t that be weird? I was about to ask him if he would date me, then after twelve days I changed my mind?”

“Nico looks like a reasonable guy, I think he’ll understand.”

“M’pretty sure he put the ball on your court so you can basically do whatever you want, I guess? I dunno. I’m just talking out of my ass here.” Cecil shrugs.

“He didn’t reply to my text,” Will says.

Lou Ellen rolls her eyes. “Maybe he’s doing something important. He has a  _ different job  _ after all. Don’t be clingy.”

***

**[Nico]**   
hey sorry i didnt get to reply to you earlier   
i was doing something and annabeth would’ve wrung   
my neck if i as much breathed on the same    
direction of my phone😁

**[Me]**   
Don’t worry

**[Nico]**   
something happened?

**[Me]**   
No, not really

**[Nico]**   
oh ok

**[Me]**   
👍

**[Nico]**   
i have to say   
not rly appreciating these 2-word responses   
will

**[Me]**   
What do you want me to say?   
Do you even like talking to me or you’re just   
humoring me?   
Because if so, let me remind you you are under   
no obligation to talk to me, okay

**[Nico]**   
wow what crawled up your ass and died   
there?   
where is this even coming from?

**[Me]**   
I don’t know. You tell me   
You’re the one who have secrets

**[Nico]**   
that doesnt even make any sense!!!!

**[Me]**   
Whatever.    
Just drink your secret juice   
and wear your secret pajamas   
Do whatever secret things you do to sleep at night

Will turns off his phone and tries his hardest to sleep but fails. He’s too worked up to sleep, angry at Nico’s secrets and angry at himself for being angry at Nico.

Will fluffs his pillow and closes his eyes. He’ll apologize tomorrow but for now, he lets himself stew in his anger.

*******  
  


**Sunday** **  
  
**

**[Me]**   
Sorry   
I was out of line last night   
I’m just stressed   
That sounds like an excuse for being an asshole   
Sorry. I mean it.

Nico doesn’t reply.

*******

“Will, we have a problem. Where are you?” Katie rushes the moment Will answers her call.

“Shit. Really? What is it?”

“The loudspeakers aren’t working.”

“Fuck!”

“Yeah, that’s what I said earlier. Can you come here? I already called Sonny’s. They said they could have a technician look at it but he won’t be here until 4. We could open it up for ourselves, though. I already asked.”

“Jesus, that’s too late! Okay, can you call Charles? I think he knows a thing or two about wires and stuff.”

“Okay. Got it.”

“Thanks, Katie. I’m on my way.” Will ends the call and starts walking back to the gym. He’s in the administration building (or T building for literally everyone) for some errands so it would take him at least 20 minutes of power walking to get to the gym. He left his bag at the office so nothing's weighing him down.

One thing he likes about this university is how bonkers your schedule is when you’re a freshman. He used to have classes with students who would have their first lecture at H-building then at Gamma Este for the next. The distance between two buildings is about 500 meters and walking would take them at least a few minutes so the students would often run to get to Gemma Este in time. He chuckles to the memory as he walks down the long stretch of walkway canopy ahead of him. His phone chimes in his pocket.

**[Katie-kat😺]**   
Charles is checking it   
Should we let him fix it or wait for the technician?

**[Me]**   
I bet he knows what he’s doing   
Let him fix what he can then we’ll have    
the technician look at it later

**[Katie-kat😺]**   
Okay

**[Nico]**   
okay

**[Me]**   
Yeah yeah I get ya Kates   
Oh sorry    
I thought it was Katie

**[Nico]**   
it’s fine   
im sorry too   
i did not rly intended to lie to you   
i didnt mention it bc i thought it was fine    
then we started texting and talking everyday   
i guess it just slipped my mind   
but i promise u after tonight i have   
no more secrets

**[Me]**   
Honestly, at first, I really don’t mind that you have   
secrets but idk, a voice in my head just kept saying   
‘be careful, be careful’    
Then Hazel slipped and you didn’t want me asking   
about it   
And I don’t know. I got weird.   
The voice in my head got in me   
  
**[Nico]**   
i get it   
i mean i kinda do?   
i kind of get what u mean   
sorry   
i know thats hard to verbalize   
but i promise u i will explain everything later   
if it’s not enough and u dont want to ask me anymore   
it’s okay. im not gonna be mad   
but could we still be friends?   
i wasnt lying when i said i always have fun when im   
with u

**[Me]** **  
** Hahaha   
Sure.   
I would like that very much 😊

**[Nico]**   
so... can we go back to using emojis now?   
i miss your weird emojis 🙂

**[Me]**   
Oh you mean this? 🤪   
I’ll give you more of that   
🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪   
What are you doing right now? 🤪

**[Nico]**   
yeah i like that emoji 🥰   
preparing my stuff for later

**[Me]**   
Why do you have to bring stuff? 🤔   
I literally only have three shirts and a couple of   
small towels in my bag

**[Nico]**   
why do u have so many shirts?

**[Me]**   
I sweat A LOT

“I’m here! Charles is everything okay?”

“What took you so long? You were just in T, I can literally see T from here.” Katie yells at him.

“Sorry, I got distracted. It won’t happen again.”

“It better be. We’re too busy today to get distracted.” She huffs and walks away, leaving Will and Charles to deal with the loudspeakers.

Will crouches down to see what Charles is working on. “What are you doing?” He asks.

“I’m just fiddling with the plug. Technically, I can fix it but we won’t get our deposit back.” He twists some wires and then plugs it back to the socket. 

“Yikes. I know we have a lot of money left but fifteen grand is a huge amount to lose,”

“That’s what I said,”

Charles picks up the microphone and turns it on, making the speaker screech with feedback noise. Will winces and plugs his ears. Charles turns the microphone off. “There. But let the technician come anyway, okay?”

“Sure. Katie already called him.”

“Hey Will,” someone, Kayla, calls out to him. He turns. “Yes?”

“This is Annabeth Chase, manager of 5 Graces.” She gestures to the blonde behind her. She wears a plain orange shirt, jean shorts, and sneakers. Gorgeous, he thinks.

He holds out his hand. “Hi, I’m William Solace, student body president. You can call me Will,” he smiles at her, the one his friends dubbed as his ‘marketing smile’. 

She politely smiles back, takes his hand, and gives a firm shake. “Annabeth Chase, nice to meet you.”

Annabeth? Huh, just like Nico’s friend. “Likewise,” he says and she lets go. “My friend knows someone also named Annabeth.”

She looks at him, amused. “Oh really? That’s quite nice. Though I never really had that much luck finding a keychain with my name on it in gift shops.”

“What brings you here, Miss Chase? I thought you and your band won’t be here until 7?”

“You can call me Annabeth. I got here first but they’ll be here in about 15 minutes or so. I want to look around before I get to work, you know.”

“I see. Miss the school grounds, huh? From what I recall you were the top of your class in the architecture department before you all dropped out, right?” 

Annabeth gives hum. “Yeah. One day we were just dumb kids in a band, then got signed to a major label the next. It was overwhelming at first but we got the hang of it eventually. And as their manager, I get to move stuff around so our schedule could accommodate our other interests. That’s why we’re here.”

“And the students, including me, are grateful that you found the time to play for everyone tonight. I’m a fan.”

“It’s no big deal, really. Percy and Jason practically begged me to accept the invitation and play pro bono right after Kayla called.” Annabeth’s phone lights up. She reads the preview and pockets her phone again. “I’m sorry to cut our conversation short but Percy and the others are here so I have to go to them. Who knows what those kids will do if I don’t get there in time.”

“It’s fine! Nice to meet you again, Annabeth. If you wanna feel the competitiveness of everyone, the agriculture and engineering department are having their championship game at the gym and the softball field.”

“Thanks! I'll keep it in mind,” Annabeth wiggles her fingers at him and leaves the backstage.

*******

Will is frantically running around, carrying clipboards, trophies, medals, and other prizes for the awarding ceremony later when he sees Nico transporting various equipment from a black van. He’s wearing a black muscle shirt, black skinny jeans, and a beanie that covers almost half his face. He wonders how he could even see.

“Hey!” He shouts, jogging towards the boy.

“Uh… hey!” Nico hesitated for a little before responding.

“What are you doing here? I thought you won’t be here until 6?”

“I, uh…. I’m helping?”

“Oh wow, thanks! What are you moving?” He looks behind him and sees microphone stands.

“Is that for the bands later?”

“Yeah... additional microphone.”

“We don’t have enough?”

“Probably. I dunno, I’m just carrying stuff.”

“Neeks, come on. If you have time for flirting, you have time for moving!” A brunette called out behind Nico whom he recognizes as Piper McLean.

Will’s eyes bug out. “Holy shit is that Piper McLean?!” He nearly drops the championship trophy and the bag of medals. “Oh my god she knows you! Are you 5 Graces’ groupie?! Is that what you’re trying to say to me?!”

Nico waves his hands in front of him. “Shh! No! Don’t scream! No one knows we’re here already!” His face scrunched up like he’s worried people are going to swarm at any moment.

Will couldn’t hide his amusement in his discovery. He really thought Nico was a scammer or some kind of nefarious fiend! Not that he thought Nico was a scammer or some kind of nefarious fiend but somewhere along those lines. “So you really are a groupie! Oh my god!”

“Will!” Drew shouts. “What are you doing?! Gus needed that trophy like yesterday!”

“Sorry, sorry! I’m going now!” Drew rolls her eyes and goes back to grabbing stuff from the storage. Will looks back at Nico. “Can we talk later? I have a little request.”

“Sure. I’ll see you later.”

“Thanks!” He kisses Nico’s forehead, the salty taste of his sweat on his lips, and half-runs to the backstage.

He doesn’t see the deep blush on Nico’s face right after. 

***

Nico and Will meet a few hours later for a late lunch. Nico buys some chicken nuggets and Will gets a BLT sandwich. They eat their food behind the tennis court since the matches are long over.

“What’s your request?” Nico asks, chewing his cold and rubbery chicken nuggets. Will told him to at least buy a salad to counter the preservatives in his food. He refused, so Will bought him one which he devoured first so he could have his sweet time nibbling his fried chicken goop.

“Hm, now that a few hours have passed I don’t know if it’s still appropriate to ask,” Will puts his sandwich down and grabs his drink. He takes a long sip and puts it down beside him. He wipes his wet hand on his pants.

“Just say it, let me decide if it’s appropriate or not.”

“You sure?”

“Uh-huh.”

“My brother wanted to come tonight but he’s 10 so he couldn’t. So I promised him a shoutout from the band that he could post on all his SNS just so he won’t come. Then I found out that you’re with them so...” he trails off. He doesn’t want to say it since he doesn’t want to look like a fucking opportunist. 

“You want me to ask them if you could record a shoutout for your brother?”

“Yes? But I don’t want to look like an opportunist! I don’t want them to think that I wanted to date their groupie for shoutouts and other stuff,”

Nico giggles beside him, his food forgotten on his lap. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna think that!” He takes his phone out from his pocket and, presumably, texts someone. His phone pings a few seconds later and he slides it back to his pocket. “They say it’s okay.”

“Really?”

“Yep,”

“Wow. Thanks, Nico! I owe you one! Do you want more chicken nuggets?”

“I thought these are ‘fried chicken goop’?”

“Yeah, but you did something for me so I wanna do something for you,”

“Nah, it’s fine. Happy to do it.”

They finish their food and walk around the campus again. Will then gets a brilliant idea to take Nico to the agriculture building. The air is cold from all the trees and they both shiver when a gust of wind comes. Will quickly remembers the countless ghost stories he’s heard from various students in his three and a half years in New Rome. The whole area is creepy but unlike the H-building that’s dark and gloomy, Nuxvar is bright and open but surrounded by tall trees. There’s a road beside it that even the veteran staff won’t dare to step on after 6 PM. They say a lady wearing white stands behind the tree by the road, and if anybody dares to use it after dark, the lady would ride behind them and they won’t find their way until morning. Will shudders and tugs Nico closer.

“Oh my god! Goats!” Nico gasps and runs toward them. He pets the mother and the kid. “Will, look! They're so friendly!”

“Yeah, they’re used to people petting them.”

“Ugh! I wanna take them home!”

“You wanna see something incredible?”

“Yeah, where?”

“Come on,” Will holds Nico’s hand and together they walk behind Nuxbar. The expression on Nico’s face is so pure and child-like that Will regrets not taking a video the moment they go through the gates. Nico’s face  _ beams _ with delight as he takes in the four and a half acres of farmland in front of them. 

“Corns! Tomatoes! What the fuck! Why is there a farm behind Nuxbar?!” He asks excitedly. He moves to the plant closest to them. “This is an eggplant! Those are carrots!”

Will laughs. “Nice observation skills, kiddo.”

“What the fuck! Has this always been here?!”

“Yeah,” Will has been here a couple of times before but Nico obviously hasn't so he spends the entire time in awe as he feeds grass to the cows, water buffaloes, and grains to the chickens, ducks, and turkeys.

They separate after an hour, all dirty and sweaty. Will is going to hold a final meeting with his cabinet while Nico will do whatever it is they do before a gig. They meet again after the awarding ceremony. Will gave the trophy to the Engineering department for nagging the first place for the seventh consecutive year. The agriculture department got second place and the education department the third. Cecil is having the time of his life onstage.

“Are you a fan of the 5 Graces?” Nico asks. The student’s night has started and the first band of the night is already on stage, the lead singing his heart out.

“Hm? Yeah, but not so much. I mean, I'm a fan. I bought their albums and stream their music all the time, but I don't know them all, you know. I know Percy, Piper, and Jason because they're the vocalists but I'm ashamed to say I don't know their drummer and bassist.”

“So you’re like a casual fan?”

“I guess so? Don’t tell your friends that, okay? Especially their drummer and bassist. You’re friends with them, right?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry,” Nico laughs. “What’s your favorite song of theirs?”

“I like a lot of their songs. I can’t choose! The first time I heard of them was way back a year ago when three of their songs were used for this Japanese drama. I was a fan of one of the actors there so when I heard they’re using their songs, I immediately looked the band up. Imagine my surprise when I read their wiki page that they used to go here. So I guess, Betty’s A Bombshell holds a special place in my heart. Oh, I also like Lovely Cup and Didn’t Have To Go. I like how they let each member sing, you know? It’s unique.”

Nico smiles broadly at him. “Yeah?” He chuckles. “You wanna buy something? My treat.”

“Sure, what do you have in mind?”

“I want a ginger lemon tea,”

“Okay, let’s go.”

5 Graces is almost up when they get back to their spot beside the stage. They dance and sing and jump along with the other students, then a fire truck comes and blasts the audience with foam and water. It looks disgusting in Will’s opinion but hey, people love being disgusting at concerts. It’s not his thing but he respects them for willing to get soaked in the middle of the night.

Nico touches his shoulder and pulls him down to whisper in his ear. “I’m gonna go pee. Be back in a few,” he says.

“I can come with you,”

“No, it’s fine. I can go by myself.”

“Here,” Will gives him the key to the conference room. “It’s the key to the conference room. There's a toilet there. You know where it is, right?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Will lets Nico go and looks back to the band playing on the stage. They’re pretty good. They sing a bunch of covers and even sing two of their originals. If he remembers correctly, the members of this band, Monkeyslut, are also students of New Rome. Maybe they’re going to get scouted soon?

The vocalist finally thanks the audience but Nico is still nowhere in sight. The audience screams their appreciation and screams even louder when Cecil walks back to the stage to introduce their last band for the night. They know who’s next, of course, it was advertised in the flyers.

**[Me]**   
Hey, where are you?   
Your friends are playing next

No response.

Will taps his foot and paces back and forth in his little space. Maybe he got lost? But he used to be a student here, right? He should know where the conference room is, it’s literally beside the preschool. Everybody knows where the preschool is. He wants to go after Nico but 5 Graces will be playing soon. He shoots Nico another text.

**[Me]**   
Are you okay? Are you lost?   
Do you want me to come get you?

Still nothing. Anxiety swirls inside his gut.

Cecil clears his throat. “Ladies, gentlemen, gays, lesbians, and non-binary folks, are you ready for tonight’s special gueeeesstt??!!!!” The crowd screams and starts chanting  _ Graces, Graces, Graces! _

“I can’t hear you!!!!!!” Cecil screams at the microphone. The crowd screams even louder. There’s hollering, chanting, and other sounds around. Will opens the camera app and points it to the stage. Nico still hasn’t replied and he’s  _ this  _ close to bolting to the conference room to find him, but his brother is counting on him so bites his lip and stays put.

“LET’S WELCOME THE FIVE GRACES!!!!!!!”

Everyone goes absolutely bonkers.

People start throwing their drinks at other people, boys lifting one of their friends to throw him up the air, people in the back running around and screaming at each other. People sure do crazy things when they’re excited.

The band’s vocalist, Percy Jackson, goes out first and waves at the crowd. “Good evening, New Rome!!!!!” he screams and the crowd screams back. Will clicks the record button, his smile is huge and he’s getting excited himself. He’s never been in any of their gigs despite being a  _ ‘fan’  _ so this is huge for him. Then the others start to trickle in. Piper McLean, Jason Grace, their drummer, and shit, is that… Nico?! What the fuck????????

His eyes bug out and he turns to see if other people are seeing this too because that is fucking Nico onstage!!!! Holding the bass!!!! What the fuck???!!! He pockets his phone absentmindedly.

He sees Kayla and Lou Ellen a few meters to his left. He looks at them silently asking  _ What the fuck? Why is Nico there?! _ and them looking at him like he’s the biggest imbecile in the whole school, if not the whole city.

“It is so good to be back here tonight and an absolute pleasure too! You have no idea how much we wanted to perform for you guys, but we’re here now!” Percy screams at the crowd then he starts strumming his acoustic guitar, “I am a man, man, man, man up, up in the air,”

The crowd sings along and it is  _ glorious.  _ Will is getting goosebumps and it feels like he’s been thrown in outer space. He finds himself mouthing ‘hoo’ and ‘haah’ with Percy and the crowd. Will looks at Nico and he’s doing the same.

_ So I pull the switch, the switch, the switch inside my head _ _  
_ _ And I see black, black, green, and brown, brown, brown and blue _ _  
_ _ Yellow, violets, red _ _  
_ _ And suddenly a light appears inside my brain _ _  
_ _ And I think of my ways, I think of my days _ _  
_ _ And know that I have changed _

Soon, the song ends and they’re starting another one. This time, it’s Jason’s turn to talk to the crowd. “Hi, I’m Jason,” he lifts a hand to the crowd and they start screaming again, but some of them scream  _ ‘hi, Jason!’  _ like they’re in a goddamn meeting. Will laughs heartily. “This next song is called Chloe.”

_ Dim the lights, dim the lights, dim the lights, low _ _  
_ _ You can come and join me, sit around the piano _ _  
_ _ You can light the fire, open up the window _ _  
_ _ You can make a choice by seeing where the wind blows _ _  
_ _ You can watch me sleeping and I can watch you dreaming _ _  
_ _ You can change the channel and I can change the feeling _

Jason’s voice is way lower than Percy’s but it’s still fun to listen to. He finds himself bobbing along to the catchy tune and looking at Nico who's also singing in his microphone. God, he looks so fucking cool onstage. They haven’t been performing for long but the harsh lights of the stage are making them sweat already.

The crowd is surprised when Jason changes  _ Chloe  _ to  _ Piper  _ but they embrace the change and sing along. Piper smiles broadly beside him.

_ Piper, I don't need a reason _ _  
_ _ Well, I'm bound by the sweet condition _ _  
_ _ Piper, we don't need permission _ _  
_ _ We can go where we wanna go _ _  
_ _ Say what we wanna say, and _ _  
_ _ Do what we wanna do _

_ We can go where we wanna go _ _  
_ _ Say what we wanna say, and _ _  
_ _ Do what we wanna do _

Jason gives a bow and the audience scream again. Piper hugs him tight and kisses his cheek. People wolf-whistle. It’s nice to hear everybody’s having a great time. Jason smirks to the crowd and the girls in front go  _ batshit _ .

“Yeaaaahhhhh!!! New Rome!!! It’s so nice to see you again!! Shout out to my homies from the Mechanical Engineering department!!” Their drummer, ah yes, Leo, screams. A bunch of deep shouts from the crowd and Leo is grinning from ear to ear. He looks really fun to hang out with, Will thinks.

“Alright, everybody! This song is called Shark Attack!”

_ Yeah, I left my body in a sea of people _ _  
_ _ And that's just how I'll leave it _ _  
_ _ Yeah, I met somebody in a sea of people _ _  
_ _ And that's just what I believe in _

_ Yeah, we laughin' like a Wednesday night _ _  
_ _ We ran across the interstate _ _  
_ _ And drank a bottle of vinegar _ _  
_ _ And then we stayed up really late _

It’s incredible how Leo can sing and hit the drums at the same time. Will wonders if hitting the drums with that much intensity while singing won’t tire him out. Though singing while playing the drums is not unheard of, as he once watched a Japanese singer perform while doing the same, it’s still amazing to watch.

By the end chorus, Leo is a bit out of breath so the five of them are singing, but everybody's still jumping up and down so it’s either they don’t care or they haven’t noticed it yet. Will’s money is on the former.

“How you doin’ tonight everybody!!” Piper asks the crowd, and they respond to her enthusiastically. “I’m Piper and I’m so proud of my former department, the Business Administration and Management for not sucking in this year’s festival! Whoo! Fourth place is not bad at all!” She wipes the thin film of sweat from her forehead and picks up her bottle of water for a drink. “Anyway, this next song is from our latest album that’s going out in around a couple of months. The music video will be up sometime this week so better watch out for it! You can visit our website for more details! This song is called Youth.”

Jason moves from his place to Piper’s keyboards while Percy puts down his guitar and picks up a tambourine. Jason starts playing the moment Leo hits the first tom then Nico starts playing his part. He looks so cool like this, relaxed and smiling at his friends. 

_ You're so serious, always in your head, just makin' plans _ _  
_ _ I'm on a runway, you are in a plane that never lands _ _  
_ _ I tried to tell you, life is gonna pass you by _ _  
_ _ Stay in this moment or you'll find yourself runnin' out of time _

Will bobs his head to the beat. He looks at the crowd and though they’re still as energetic as ever, the screams and hollering have subsided. The people in the front row singing along from the lyrics playing beside the stage.

_ The night's so young, let's set it on fire _ _  
_ _ (Buncha kids and we're playin' with matches, yeah) _ _  
_ _ Yeah, the night's so young, let's set it on fire _ _  
_ _ (Just kids, yeah, just kids) _

“William!” Hazel jumps in front of him from god knows where and laughs. Frank appears from backstage a few moments later. “How’s it going?” She asks.

“Hazel, I’m going fucking insane! Why didn’t you tell me your brother is in a band?!”

“He obviously didn’t tell you so it’s not my secret to tell. Sorry,” she answers cheekily. 

“Is this what he wants to tell me? Is this his big secret?”

“Maybe. He didn’t really say anything.” Frank answers him.

A round of applause breaks their conversation as Piper finishes her song. The crowd  _ whoo _ ’s and hollers. Will cups his hands around his mouth and joins them. She thanks the audience and goes back to her keyboards. 

Frank bumps his shoulder, getting his attention, and nods at the stage. He turns and sees Nico walking forward, not exactly going in front but front enough so people would know it’s his turn to sing. A bunch of people scream and start chanting his name. Nico smiles sheepishly. Will can feel his blush creeping up his face.

“Hi, I’m Nico." "Hi, Nico!!!" "Before I start with the next song, I just want to say something. This is for you, sunshine.” He bites his lip and starts playing.

Will recognizes the tune. God-fucking-damn, it’s fucking Lovely Cup. He rushes in front of the stage to watch him properly.

He meets his eyes and smirks, eyes shining under the spotlight.

_ You’re such a lovely up _ _  
_ _ Why don’t cha fill me up? _ _  
_ _ All these reasons too hard to explain _ _  
_ _ So I'll drink you up, my dear _ _  
_ _ We got it all right here _ __  
_ Here is now and now is where I wanna be _ _  
_ __ Allora si (sha la la, sha la la) you belong to me [yeah!]

Is this a coincidence or Nico changed his song the last minute to sing his favorite song? Shit. Will is getting light-headed.

Nico breaks his eye contact to look at the crowd, then looks back at him after a few moments. Will stands the whole time in front of the stage, not even tapping his foot, just staring at Nico onstage with his mouth slightly agape like he's a farmer watching aliens abduct his cows in rural Nebraska or something. He can see on his peripheral vision that Leo and the others are laughing, but that could just be their general happiness from how their audience is responding to their music. Piper, beside Nico, is grinning from ear to ear while singing. She looks at Nico, then at him, then at the crowd, then back at him again.

He claps absentmindedly when Nico and Piper finish singing. Nico winks at him and he can feel himself blushing furiously--again. He walks back beside Hazel and Frank as Nico walks back to his original place.

They sing three more songs for their encore: Spun, Let Me In, and the song that put them on the charts, Tongue Tied. He hurt his neck from bobbing too hard to the beat as Jason sings but he doesn’t mind it too much. The three of them sing their hearts out as Jason and Piper sing theirs.

Nico looks at him the entire time they’re playing Let Me In and his heart beats so fast like he drank three bottles of Red Bull.

The crowd’s energy doubles as Percy and Piper scream while singing Tongue Tied. Percy lifts the microphone to the crowd and they sing enthusiastically. Goose pimples bloom on Will’s skin. He holds Frank and Hazel’s hands and together they skip in a circle. It’s a perfect song to end the night.

Percy lets the last note fade and the crowd roars again.

“It’s a pleasure to play in front of you all! Thank you and good night!” Percy, Piper, Jason, Leo, and Nico all bow and leave the stage.

Will looks at Frank and Hazel, silently asking if he could leave and maybe ambush their brother&friend backstage. They smirk at him and push him in the direction of the backstage. Will takes off and climbs the short stairs three steps at once. He sees Nico just as he's removing his guitar so he runs to him and hugs him from behind, his arms slick with sweat. Nico yelps and thrashes a little bit.

“Hey, hey, it’s me,” Will says in his ear, making his cheek damp from Nico’s sweat.

“Oh my god!” Nico twists, wraps his arms around Will’s neck, kisses him hard.

The kiss is wet and Nico is digging an elbow to his shoulder and Will’s side hurt from twisting his torso to meet his kiss (not to mention his neck from earlier) but Will won’t change a damn thing. As far as he’s concerned, this is the perfect kiss they always show in movies. The kiss that would inspire hundreds of songs. The kiss that one would spend their whole life looking for.

After what it feels like an hour, when the pain on his side becomes too much, they part. "Ow,"

“Sorry,” Nico says, squirming so Will would let him go. He faces him properly and pulls Will down for another bruising kiss.

“Ehem,” someone clears their throat behind Nico. They part again, reluctantly.

“Who’s this, Neeks?” Percy, who’s wiping his sweat with a blue towel, asks.

Will extends his hand right away. “Hi, I’m Will. Nico’s boyfriend. Student council president. Nice to meetcha!”

Piper shoves Percy to the side and takes Will’s hand enthusiastically. “Oh my god! I’m Piper! Nice to meet you! We saw you at the carnival last time! We didn’t wanna impose on your date so we left you two alone.”

“Hey, you know him and you didn’t even tell me?” Jason asks, two water bottles in hand. He gives one to Piper. She shrugs.

“We didn’t tell you 'cus you’re just gonna scare him away,” Annabeth says, appearing behind Will with Leo.

“Wow, you’re tall! I’m Leo!” he says. Will shakes his offered hand. “That’s Jason and Percy. They don’t like you very much.” Leo points at the two of them behind Piper. 

“Do not harass him!” Nico warns both of them.

“You wound us, Nico. You know we wouldn’t do that!” Percy feigns hurt.

“Yeah, whatever.” Nico pulls Will away from his bandmates to somewhere more secluded. “Leave us alone for a sec, we have to talk.”

“Make it short, we’re leaving in a few minutes. And don’t have sex, please! We're in a hurry!” Annabeth shouts out as she ushers her friends away from them, probably to sign autographs and do photo ops outside.

“We won’t!” Will shouts back.

“So,” Nico starts when they’re finally alone. “Boyfriend, huh?”

Will can’t help but blush. “Yeah. Is that okay?”

“You know I won’t say no to that,” Nico chuckles. “Do you want to ask me anything?”

“No. I guess it’s pretty self-explanatory the moment you come out of the stage.”

“Are you sure you want to date me? I mean, we’re not exactly Maroon5 famous but I think we’re going to be in a few years. I’m sure when I tweet about us you’re gonna get offensive replies and DMs. Hell, I’m positive I saw a couple of students take a picture of us last Thursday. I was actually surprised it didn’t trend locally on twitter.”

Will snatches the towel from his back pocket and wipes a trickle of sweat on Nico’s temple. Nico blushes and scowls at him but doesn’t do anything. “I’m sure. But what about you, are you sure you want to date a nobody like me?”

“Shut up, you are not a nobody. You’re the freaking student president of this freaking school! Everybody respects you. You’re smart, cute, and extremely thoughtful. I’m pretty freaking stoked you’re even in my life at all!”

“Aw, you really do like me!” Will squishes his cheeks and kisses him again, chaste and sweet. Nico hums in approval.

“Nico, come on, we have to go! Will, you can come if you want!” Annabeth shouts from the other side of the backstage.

“Where are we going?” Will asks Nico.

“I dunno, she always does this. It’s a surprise!” They hold hands as they run out of the backstage and into the black van right below the stairs. Piper, Leo, Jason, Frank, and Hazel are already inside with Annabeth on the driver’s seat and Percy on her side.

“Hang tight guys! The night is young and ours to take, right, babe?”

“You bet.” Annabeth grins. They all cheer. 

Will gently turns Nico’s face to him and leans in to kiss him once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **FACTS AND ETC**
> 
> 1\. 60% of the buildings in my university are shaped like a letter, thus their "names". I just changed the letters to at least mask it a little 🤪
> 
> 2\. It was on the 50th anniversary when they included the cosplay+skit competition. It was a fucking riot and the education department won every cosplay+skit competition until I graduated. I couldn't remember the first skit they made but Maleficent, Dora, and Bulbasaur were in the second year. Everybody fucking lost it when Bulbasaur appeared with a beard (it was a pun).
> 
> 3\. Gamma Este and Gamma Oeste are real buildings (different names ofc) and they're facing each other. I still don't know which is which until now. And we used to have TONS of classes in "H" and in one of the "Gamma" buildings. We had to run every single time to get to class. It was **exhausting**.
> 
> 4\. "Nuxvar" is the oldest building on campus and it is said to have a farm behind it exclusive for agriculture students. I haven't been there because I wasn't an agriculture student but my agri friends say it's ""true"". And the road beside it is real. I don't know about the ghost tho, but I won't fuck with it bc that road gives off bad vibes.
> 
> 5\. Yes, we have a preschool on our university campus. And yes, anybody can enroll their child there.
> 
> 6\. For those who don't know, Grouplove's lead vocalists, Hannah and Christian are together. I originally wanted Jason to be "Christian" but decided against it the last minute. I wanted Piper to take Hannah's role in the band tho (I hc that Aphrodite kids are also good singers).
> 
> Thank you for reading this weird story!!!! I appreciate all of your kind words!!!! They're mostly my driving force in finishing this story. Holy heck, this is my **first** muti-chap fic to finish!!!!!!!!! I love you all and thank you ❤️❤️ this is hella long now
> 
> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)!
> 
> p.s. I wanted to make a playlist but idk how lmao I do not have a Spotify premium.  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments on what you think!
> 
> [Coolbubo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbubo/pseuds/Coolbubo) made a playlist with the songs featured in this fic ♥♥ give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjgqmZVyTT31PxIRch7cX?si=0mnDy16BRXqvEC05xDiabg)!  
> 
> 
> Say hi on [Tumblr](http://haatorii.tumblr.com/)!


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